


Hero's Game

by Lyun



Category: Dragon Nest (Video Game), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Dekubowl, I heard Mirodiya x Everyone is a thing, I'm not sure what kind of MMOs everyone else plays but I play a whole lot of Dragon nest, It's not going to be like SAO don't worry, Multi, No? Ok then I'll make it a thing, he already has one, midoriya might have a harem, what am I saying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-11-06 20:10:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11043453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyun/pseuds/Lyun
Summary: [AU] In which Midoriya delves into the world of virtual reality, joins a guild, and makes new friends (and meets old ones aka Bakugou Katsuki). He is constantly being mistaken for a girl in game...well, not that it matters. Either the author has been playing too much Dragon Nest lately, or she simply wishes to combine her two most recent obsessions together. Also contains crack. Proceed with caution.





	1. Beginner's Luck

**Author's Note:**

> This series is crafted with reference to the following games: Dragon Nest; Blade and Soul; and purely because Bakugou does not fit anywhere, Maplestory. I do not own any characters from BnHA (' v ')/

 

 

 

Midoriya was excited. One could tell from his face—it wore a smile that resembled the time when his mother finally got him his own _All Might_ figurine; a beam so bright, it was capable of blinding.

He darted up the stairs after shoving every bit of dinner down his throat, almost choking himself twice. He didn’t particularly mind.

“Thanks for the meal!” Midoriya called over his shoulder as he stumbled up the stairs and barged into his room, only because stumbling was his main skill (if not only one). ‘Adorable’ was next in line. It was written all over his face as he pulled out the latest virtual-reality game he had purchased from his regular hero store: _My Hero Academia._

Although the title of the game sounded as though the author was far too lazy to actually invent a legitimate game title, she figured that the game ‘Sword Art Online’, too, coincidentally shared a—yes, you understand.

Midoriya slid the Nervegear over his head after having successfully installed the game and started it with the press of a button, lying still on his bed as he waited for it to launch.

 

_Welcome to My Hero Academia_

 

The boy almost squealed. He was an avid fan; that itself was apparent to even passers-by who would, on occasion, catch him muttering to himself about the quirks of heroes and how they would work in battle (before realizing that he had actually thought of it before...for the 9th time). Midoriya had been hyped for the release of _My Hero Academia_ since its announcement at the Saturday Hero Conference last year, having seen the trailer ages ago. Although it was his first time playing an MMORPG (or any online game for the matter), Midoriya was confident.

After all, he’d read up nearly six guidebooks written by beta players and watched tons of gameplay on HeroTube. As far as he knew, his childhood friend Bakugou had also purchased the game a couple of days ago, giving the boy another reason to get it himself.

And so he did.

 

_Please enter the name of your hero._

 

To put things in a simple manner: Midoriya was not ready. He knew it was coming (this part of the game was) but he hadn’t experienced first-hand it’s disastrous dilemmas. He deliberated whilst floating mid-air.

_That was fast. I didn’t expect it to come so quickly even the gameplays took some time to get here so why is it that—could it be I skipped the introduction?!_

He did. Accidentally.

_Nooooo!! Even though I’ve seen it almost twenty times, I must see it again! Just like I did for Final Fantasy XV’s introduction it was so long and it’s all over HeroTube but I can’t help watching it again—a-ah wait wait. Hero name, hero name...you’ve had months to think about it Izuku; now, for your final option._

He was deliberating between **AlrightAllMight** (after his favourite hero) and **IamHere** (also after his favourite hero) when a timer popped up at the corner of his screen. A _timer_.

Disastrous, as mentioned earler. Midoriya did not hesitate in launching into panic mode. _Waah! Ten seconds? No way—_

He picked a random number. Started speed-counting while pointing his index at the first and second character name. He arrived at the second. _Alright,_ **IamHere** _it is!_ Exciting thoughts flit through his mind as he began typing out his epic hero name on the virtual keyboard before when all of a sudden—the timer disappeared.

Midoriya was brought to the next page.

“Eh?” He blinked.

 

_A new hero has been born!_

_Welcome,_ **IamHer** _!_

 

“Eh.” He forgot to breathe.

 

 

* * *

 

 

As most online games had their reasons for doing (sarcasm), the player’s in-game-character was designed after their appearance in reality. Therefore the name _virtual_ reality (but mainly to prevent men posing as women or, for important purposes, the other way). Simply put, Midoriya Izuku was not exactly ‘ _her’_.

 _I can’t believe this,_ thought Midoriya to himself. _Just when I was getting so excited about playing my first hero game._ The poor boy sighed, deciding that he should just get on with it. He pressed the ‘next’ button and was transported to a forest location.

 

_Please select your hero class._

 

This lifted his spirits. His hero class had been decided the very moment he’d seen the game’s trailer and Midoriya was confident that in this case, no mistakes could be made.

 

**Machina**

_A class that uses fists to deliver strong punches and deal burst damage to their enemies. Hero master: All Might (Ruina) and Saitama-sensei (Defensio)._

_Specialize?_

It was, hands down, a yes. Even the class introduction and synopsis was perfect. So perfect, Midoriya swore he could have felt the tears in his eyes.

A tap of a button confirmed his class and Midoriya was now officially a Machina. He felt special— having gathered that Machina was the least popular class in _My_ _Hero_ _Academia_ and yet was the very one that drew his interest. There weren’t many videos of Machina gameplay on HeroTube, and Midoriya even thought of streaming his own content.

 

_Please select your additional parts._

 

No, no. That was not read wrongly. Yes, _parts_. The player was presented with three options: a fox set, a racoon set (idk why this is here pls ask Dragon Nest) and a bunny set. Midoriya had to consider among these three. These were key to a Machina’s appearance; easily identifiable by the adorable-looking animal ears and tail that they spouted. Characteristic, really.

Naturally, Midoriya considered his options solely based on ‘what All Might would have picked’. A fox didn’t seem very hero-like, and a racoon’s tail would certainly get in his way during a battle. The bunny set seemed to him most reasonable (apart from the fact that All Might’s hair practically mimicked the appearance of bunny ears) since a short tail was convenient.

He picked just that.

 

_Welcome, Hero_ **IamHer**

_To the land of Lagendia!_

 

Midoriya wished that the game would somehow stop reminding him of his detrimental mistake when he realized that this was what every other NPC was going to call him and (in fact) every other AI—including world bosses!

He spent the next couple of minutes hiding his hands in his face, having yet to notice that he had been transported to a local town named Prarie. Players below level 10 swarmed the tiny place, leaving little to no space for Midoriya to talk to his first NPC.

“E-excuse me...sorry, coming through...uwa!” He bumped into another player who did not look happy about the incident. “Sorry! Sorry!”

“You made me drop my agates,” the warrior clicked his tongue in distaste, bending down to gather the gems he had dropped while Midoriya scrambled to help. It wasn’t the best start to his heroic adventure. “But it’s fine. Since you’re a girl.”

Midoriya blinked, afraid that there was something wrong with his hearing. “E-eh. Eh?”

“What? I’m saying you’re cute. Add me,” the player sent an immediate friend request to Midoriya, staring at his bunny ears. _It must’ve been my hero name! Ah, this is so misleading..._

“W-wait...I’m not a—”

“Okay, see you around. Gotta hurry up and finish my quests for the event.” The warrior waved, leaving behind a thoroughly confused Machina. _No way,_ he thought. _Enough about the name, people are mistaking me for a girl!_

 

 

* * *

 

 

The event NPC was on the brink of death. Midoriya could tell from the way players were gathered around her, demanding for better rewards while others exchanged dungeon points for enhancement materials.

“Hi! Can I receive the quest for—”

“TAKE IT!” Event Planner Irine shoved an old poster into Midoriya’s arms. “It’s a recycled event from the beta test but TAKE IT!” He thanked her, not seeming to mind that the event was recycled. After all, Midoriya preferred to look at things in a positive light and that would only mean he was familiar with the event, having seen multiple videos about it on HeroTube.

 

**Quest: Save Rose**

Save village girl _Rose_ from the _Catacombs_. 0/100

 

A hundred times? Reasonable. Sounded like every other event quest in the game, really. For Midoriya who’d always admired All Might, this was a piece of cake. Or so he told himself.

 _Let’s do this!_ The boy was about to leave the town and make his way to the Wind Forest by a shining blue portal when he spotted a seemingly lost player spamming questions on the all chat.

 **CokeFloat** : Hiya! Do you know how to get to the Calderock Village?

 **CokeFloat** : Does anyone know where Calderock is?

 **CokeFloat** : I came from Mana Ridge...I might be lost hehe.

Midoriya went up to the lost player and tapped him on the shoulder—oh. It was a girl. A characteristic blush rose to his cheeks and immediately, he backed away. “A-ah, hello.”

The girl, decked in a ridiculously large witch’s hat and signature sorceress robes, wielded a wooden staff and beginner’s orb that seemed a little too big for her tiny frame. “Hiya! What’s up?”

“Um, I. Well, I was just...uh. As in, I know where Calderock Village is,” Midoriya managed without turning blue. “I-I think you, um. You might have entered the wrong portal. That’s all!” CokeFloat (apparent sorceress with huge hat) dismissed his concerns with a wave of a staff.

“Really? Oh well...can’t help it then! Ah, I really want to be a force user reaal quick,” CokeFloat said with sparkles in her eyes, and Midoriya couldn’t help but squint at the sight of her blinding light. “What about you, IamHer-chan? Machinas are rare aren’t they. Good on you for standing out!”

He was about to correct her on his gender when CokeFloat sent him a party request, leaving Midoriya speechless and the most embarrassed he’d ever been. “E-eh? Coke-san, you...you want me in your party?”  

The sorceress nodded vigorously. “Yeah! You’re doing the event quest too, right? I hate doing quests alone! It’s so booring.” CokeFloat was very talkative, and insisted that Midoriya joined forces with her to complete the quest, claiming that her being level 8 was a plus since he was only level 1. “Let’s do our best together, IamHer-chan!”

“Um, I...okay,” the Machina had stars in his eyes by this point and was trying his best to match the girl’s high-functioning pace. “Thank you, Coke-san.”

His companion laughed, a bright, wholesome sound. “Coke-san sounds weird. Float sounds waaay better! Or if you’re fine with real names, mine’s Uraraka!” She offered her hand and Midoriya was awfully flattered and awfully panicky at the same time.

He accepted it with a feeble shake, scratching the back of his head in a sheepish manner. “Hello, Floating Uraraka-san,” Midoriya somehow managed to mess up the simple distinction of words. It wasn’t very unusual of him to do so. “Um, nice to meet you. I...uh. I’m Midoriya Izuku...and a boy, by the way.”

 

 


	2. Explosive Explicits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midoriya and Uraraka completes the event quest and arrive at Calderock Village, only to meet someone unexpected.

 

“Eh? Midoriya-kun, you’re a boy?” Uraraka appeared genuinely confused, gaze alternating between his hero name and the bunny ears he spouted. “You’re kidding! Ah...but if you’re a Machina then I guess it can’t be helped. They’re not of the human race are they? Kinda like the half-animal half-human sorts. Oh but does that mean you have higher agility stats? Oh! You do!” The sorceress inspected his gear and glanced at his stats, arriving at a strangely quick conclusion.

Midoriya was only level one.

“Um, Uraraka-san,” he felt embarrassed saying a girl’s name. He’d never said a girl’s name before. One would not think otherwise. “Shall we get started on the daily event? I-If we drag any longer, the day might end before we complete the quest...”

The sorceress’ mouth formed into the shape of an ‘o’. “I forgot about that! Thank you for reminding me, Midoriya-kun. You’re very efficient!” _She...she complimented me!_ Thought Midoriya shyly, being the typical virgin he was. He hadn’t noticed that his entire face had been red throughout their conversation. Thankfully, Uraraka didn’t either.

Either that or she actually thought Midoriya chose ‘red’ as his skin color.

**_Quest: Save Rose_ **

_Psst! Hey, heroes!_

The pair activated the continuation of the event quest as soon as they entered the Wind Forest. A still and unmoving NPC appeared to be whispering to them as several goblins attacked his legs. He remained unharmed. “Psst! Heroes! I’m over here.”

“We know that,” Uraraka said bluntly, examining the NPC’s design. It looked exactly like another NPC she had met only seconds ago in town. “We can see you.”

Midoriya laughed quietly. Apparently, Uraraka was very funny. Obviously, he hadn’t seen Todoroki’s humor or he’d surely be unable to remain sane.

“I need to save Rose,” the NPC went on without acknowledging the pair. In fact, judging from the direction he was looking at, he seemed to be acknowledging the goblins at his knee. One could tell that the game didn’t place a whole lot of effort in dungeon NPCs. “Rose has been captured by the chief orc—inside the dungeon. She’s trapped in a cage! I have a plan...”

They skipped the rest of the conversation.

“Alright, Midoriya-kun! Let’s do our best!” Uraraka beamed, eliminating the goblins clawing at the NPC’s feet with a single flame burst. “And save Rose!” A hundred times, yes.

The machina agreed, red-faced. “Uraraka-san, when we reach the final stage of the dungeon, is it alright if you use your shockwave to destroy Rose’s cage while I distract the boss?” Immediately, the sorceress was all for his plan.

“Midoriya-kun, you seem to know a lot about the dungeons. I didn’t even know Rose-san was in a cage!”

More compliments showered upon the boy and he felt like his chest was going to explode from all that swelling of his pride. “No, no...I just read up on the guides, that’s all!” He reasoned humbly.

The pair breezed throughout he dungeon with Uraraka’s over-leveled magic-based skills and by the time they saved Rose from the chief orc, Midoriya was already level 2.

 

**Quest: Save Rose**

_Save Rose from the Catacombs!_ 1/100

 

How Uraraka and Midoriya managed to complete the event quest and not feel a slither of boredom, even the author does not know. The duo were perfectly suited for grinding levels and farming for enhancement materials, as far as any average player could tell from their fiery personalities and, well, stubborn resolve.

“W-we,” the level 16 machina was (very naturally) out of breath by the end of the hundred runs. “We did it! Thank you, Uraraka-san.”

Uraraka was a mere two levels higher than Midoriya at the point of time, considering the scaling experience percentages and that it was increasingingly harder to level up at a level 2 dungeon. “It was fun! You don’t have to thank me for anything, Midoriya-kun.”

From Wind Forest to Calderock Village, bright-eyed, fluffy-tailed Midoriya could only think of how kind and humble Uraraka was and how fortunate he must have been to have her as his first online friend.

 

After minutes of contemplation, he was about to ask if he could have the honor of adding her to his friend list when the pair were ambushed by a very loud, and very enthusiastic warrior.

**MeganeBoy:** Welcome heroes, to Calderock Village! * **cue aggressive pushing up of glases** * I see that you are slightly over-levelled for this town, and therefore one of the stronger players in it! I suggest you join a guild that is, as well, of a prominent level in order to demonstrate and develop your strengths. What a coincidence! Our guild is currently recruiting members to grow as a team and establish our position as the strongest guild in Lagendia! We believe that both of you will make tremendous contributions and therefore—pleasecometotheinterviewtolearnmore. Termsandconditionsapply.

MeganeBoy was a very fast speaker and although it wasn’t entirely his fault, Midoriya and Uraraka were both unable to catch half of his lengthy speech, leaving them clueless with a pamphlet in their hands.

 

_< CLASS A>_

 

_Currently recruiting dedicated guild members._

**Interview required.**

_Venue: Grey Ruins CH7 (map attached)_

_Time: 1a.m-5a.m because Kaminari Denki is strong and does not need sleep!_

_Requirement: girl._

 

* * *

 

 

“Um...Megane-san?” Midoriya didn’t want to disappoint the eager-looking teen with polished armor. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I meet the requirement.” The warrior pushed up his glasses with a frown.

“That is impossible. You are, indeed, a ‘her’!” Iida Tenya made a round of inspection, sweeping his gaze all over the machina and even going as far as prodding the ears on his head. It tickled. “Your hero name says it all!”

Midoriya was not going to spill the entire embarrassing story that he had relayed to Uraraka just minutes ago. He felt like it was a waste of MeganeBoy’s time, which seemed highly precious judging by the speed at which he talked.

Before Midoriya or Uraraka could utter another word, the senior member of prominent guild _CLASS_ _A_ approached a passing hero with a maximum-enhancement spear, handing him a recruitment pamphlet whilst launching into the exact same speech he had just moments before.

“Midoriya-kun, I’m tired from the quest we did earlier. Can we take a five minutes break? I’d like to get a glass of coke,” the sorceress stretched her arms with a yawn. “I’ll be riight back.”

“Eh? Uraraka-san, you don’t have to force yourself to stay awake! P-please rest if you’re tired. If you’d like, um—actually I’d be honored to—we could, uh...if _you’d_ like to, that is, do tomorrow’s daily event together. As well.”

He glanced up only to see that Uraraka had logged out of the game.

Midoriya had his head in his hands for at least three minutes before his stubborn blush went away. _Ah, what should I do while waiting for Uraraka-san?_ He surveyed the town. It wasn’t as packed as Prairie was and there were several more channels for crowd control during peak hours.

He thought it rather peaceful, and closed his eyes to appreciate the flowing water of the fountain; the rustling of the trees and the chirping of the birds not far away—

 

“I’ll fucking break that shitty hammer of his, that dumbfuck blacksmith how fucking dare he burn my mats I farmed for fucking three fucking days straight that ass shit.”

Midoriya was beginning to think that he was having nightmares. In the game. He must be hearing things. He _must_ be. It was the bunny ears, surely.

“Now I have to farm for another three fucking days. This is plain bullshit. I’m uninstalling this fucking game,” claimed Bakugou Katsuki as he made his way to the Gray Ruins portal, knowing that he’d actually end up farming enhancement materials for another three days. He was bent on being the best-geared player for his level tier. Naturally, he was.

Midoriya did not know who **KingofExplodoKills** was. He convinced himself that he didn’t. _Bakusatsu Ou_ was the name his childhood friend Bakugou Katsu—no. Out of 5 towns, 12 channels and 24 hours in a day, there was simply no way such a terrible coincidence would occur to his...unfortunate soul. Or so Midoriya thought.

He turned his back on the passing player, praying hard that KingofExplodoKills would not notice him (or his name, for the matter) because all Midoriya wanted was peace. Hiding behind a tree, yes.

The bandit crossed the town area in a languid saunter, cursing under his breath whilst devising a couple of ways to hack the RNG system and also get his three-days worth of enhancement materials back from Blacksmith Berlin. Midoriya watched as he disappeared into a blue shining portal labelled ‘Grey Ruins’.

 

**[Party Member] CokeFloat:** _Offline_

 

Midoriya sighed, glancing between the trading market that he had intended to browse and the portal. _I wonder what level Kacchan—n-no, KingofExplodokills-san is. That dagger looked like it was an epic-grade weapon...uwa, I’m so envious. Maybe I could take a look at his stats? It wouldn’t hurt to do that quietly...right? I just have to get close enough to inspect him._

And thus, the machina set out on his most dangerous mission yet: stalking Kaccha—KingofExplodoKills.

He had expected something loud and flashy upon entering the portal on his right, but was met with a still, eerie silence that plagued his mind with uncertainty. Midoriya checked his whereabouts. It was, indeed, the Grey Ruins. A place filled with overgrown weeds and abandoned houses; a forgotten part of Calderock Village that had once been infested with goblins and demons alike. A nest for villains.

KingofExplodoKills was nowhere in sight.

The machina dropped his ‘option’ tabs with a single swipe of his left hand, tapping on the ‘search’ function before typing in the name of the hero he wished to find.

 

**KingofExplodoKills** : _Church Ruins [CH7]_

 

Having read several guides on the various towns and dungeons, Midoriya was familiar with the way. He took a left upon arriving at a crossroad, following a narrow path to the dungeon that the system had reportedly found Bakugou Katsuki to be at. Midoriya was still trying to ignore the obvious facts glaring at his very face.

 

**Church Ruins**

_Level requirement: 16_

_Boss: Mutated Goblin_

 

_Level 16?_ Midoriya barely made the cut. He had forgotten about the level requirements of Calderock dungeons, having grinded a hundred times back at the Wind Forest. The monsters in the dungeon might be slightly over-leveled compared to his hero, and not to mention he hadn’t completed his job advancement...

It was a risk he had to take. _After all, a hero always puts his life on the line!_ Or so Midoriya reminded himself of All Might, quite out of context.

He took his first step into the Church.

 

* * *

 

 

It didn’t take Midoriya very long to hear the KingofExplodoKills—both the man himself and his explosions. Several steps into the ruins and a couple of red-eyed, blue-veined goblins later, the machina caught wind of colourful curse words and a series of indoor explosions coming from within the church.

Had Midoriya not been an avid reader of the lore behind every dungeon in the game, he would have thought that _Bakugou_ was the cause of the church being in ruins. He made sure to stay hidden in the shadows of the rubble and scattered debri, crouching low while holding his bunny ears flat on his head.

“Die, die, die!” Very colourful. Very original.

The machina was able to get close enough to inspect the explosive-driven, creative-cursing hero when all of a sudden, a stray rubble fell from above and an accidental slip of his hand caused Midoriya to send—instead—a friend request to him.

_Noooooooooooooooo...what have I done?! I shall perish here. WhatdoIdowhatdoIdo?? ShouldIlogout, forcequit, forcedisconnect, hideundermyblanketandwishtoneverwake??_

 

**KingofExplodoKills** has accepted your friend request.

 

_Eh._

_Ehh??_

Immediately, he received a private message (PM). In the game, it served as a ‘whisper’ function—allowing players to communicate privately through the form of whispers, only heard by the specified hero that it was meant for.

**KingofExplodoKills to you:** who the fuck are you?

**KingofExplodoKills to you:** If you’re a girl looking for carry, I’m deleting you.

Midoriya did not know how to respond to such a claim. He debated between posing as a girl and revealing his true identity. He wasn’t sure if the latter was a better option, considering that Kacchan wasn’t exactly head over heels for him.

By this point, the bunny was certain that KingofExplodoKills was none other than Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya’s childhood friend. Not exactly, friend. Acquintance. Bully. Too-embarrassed-to-admit-he-has-the-hots-for-Midoriya-bully.

He decided to tell the truth.

**You to KingofExplodoKills:** Hi! Um, sorry to bother you while you’re farming, b-but I was just passing by and wanted to inspect you but um, kinda, accidentally, sent you a friend request...

While Bakugou’s private message wasn’t exactly a ‘whisper’ but a threatening shout, Midoriya’s was practically inaudible. KingofExplodoKills was not happy.

**KingofExplodoKills to you:** HA? You’re freaking soft, you shit. I’m farming mobs over here, can’t hear what the hell you’re mumbling to yourself about.

Midoriya attempted to repeat himself. It didn’t go very well. When Bakugou did not respond to his consistent whispers, he figured that using the ‘all’ chat system would be a better option. So far, he had to admit that it was.

**“** I wanted to inspect you a-and accidentally sent a friend request! I’M SORRY!”

Unfortunately for the machina, KingofExplodoKills took his words the wrong way. As he did, as usual.

“The fuck you want? A fight? Bring it the fuck on!” In Bakugou’s defense, inspecting another player’s stats and equipment could mean two things: curiosity, or a challenge. Competitive players were fond of inspecting other heroes to see if their stats posed as a threat to themselves. This included a hero’s class type, gear, heraldry, and most importantly, level.

“No! N-not at all, that wasn’t what I want!”

“If it’s a fight you want then show your fucking face, coward!” _Like I said...I don’t want to fight!_ Midoriya was not fond of conflict. One could tell from the look on his face that he wasn’t.

The machina jumped out of his hiding spot to meet the blonde ball of angst when all of a sudden, everything went quiet. Bakugou halted in position, blowing up one final goblin before ceasing his explosions completely. It was dead quiet—and Midoriya was aware that in a couple of seconds, a new wave of villains would spawn.

 

“U-um. Kacchan...?”

The hero that stood before him resembled his childhood friend in every way. The spiky, unruly mess of blonde hair was one thing (his ruby-eyes another) but the hero costume he had on screamed ‘IKILLTHINGSWITHEXPLOSIONS’ was what Midoriya deemed most characteristic of Bakugou.

 "What the fuck...Deku?"

 


	3. Shady People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midoriya meets some shady people. He isn't exactly the best at socializing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the jobs/classes stated and explained in the series are real classes and skills in the game Dragon Nest! I realized that most of our cute Class A students fit the descriptions of all the classes (EXCEPT KACCHAN becuz he insists on being special lol so he is designed after a Bandit in MapleStory) so :> Hope you enjoy!

 

“What the fuck...Deku?”

“Ka-Kacchan, um.” Midoriya was not in the state of mind to speak. He wasn’t sure if Bakugou’s wide eyes were a result of his sudden appearance in game or—literally put—his appearance as a non-human race. “Hi...?”

“Hi your fucking ass!” His childhood friend responded characteristically, charging towards him with a sudden burst of speed. Midoriya panicked, stepping back in surprise only to be pinned down by Bakugou’s entire arm. Something slimy and green trickled down the side of his shoulder. “What’s a shitty level 16 like you doing here in _Abyss_ mode?”

It took Midoriya more than a moment to register that his friend had narrowly saved him from a fatal goblin, stabbing it in the face with his dagger. The machina froze in place, feeling slightly sick from the sight of goblin blood.

“I...I was following you,” _like I always do_ , he thought quietly to himself, fairly shaken. “Sorry. I’m sorry. WhatdoIdo?”

Bakugou muttered something that sounded very much like ‘shitty nerd’ under his breath while yanking Midoriya to his feet. “Get up. I’m taking you back to the entrance.”

“What about you?”

“I’m a fucking level 24 of fucking course I can take care of myself you shit!” The bandit yelled over his shoulder as he side-stepped a goblin’s dash attack and countered with a blast of his own. “Don’t get in my way!”

Midoriya could only nod stiffly, fending off the mid-villains that were beginning to swarm the church in waves. He had to admit that the map was a good farming spot for any higher-leveled hero. Even though none of the beta guides had this included...

_As expected of Kacchan. He’s always ahead._

“Kacchan, behind you!” The pair had been separated by an oncoming wave of mobs, leaving Bakugou with three mini-bosses to eliminate. One of them made for his unguarded back.

“I fucking _know_!”

The bandit hurled a stun grenade into the air before ducking and blasting the ground below his feet, successfully stopping the attacks of all three mini-bosses by enhancing the effective radius of the grenade. “So shut up and don’t tell me what to do!”

“Okay, okay,” Midoriya gave in with a sigh of defeat, knowing that his friend wasn’t one to listen at any rate. He made a dash for the path that Bakugou had cleared moments ago, crossing the gate to where the latter was. “Will you be alright?”

“Just fucking go already!” He dealt a final blow to all three bosses at once, demonstrating the essence of ‘OP’ (overpowered) and living up to his hero name all together. Midoriya made for the exit before a new wave of mobs could spawn, glancing over his shoulder to shout a word of thanks.

Bakugou didn’t reply.

“Thank you, Kacchan!”

No reply.

“Kacchan!” Midoriya hollered at the bandit’s receding back. “KAACCHAAAAN!”

“What in the fuck do you—”

“ _THANK YOU!_ ”

“FUCK OFF!”

 

* * *

 

 

While Midoriya was safely back in Calderock Village resting under the shade of an oak, a messenger dove dropped by with a letter addressed to him. He wasn’t exactly in the mood for more action, not when he’d only barely escaped waves of mutated goblins and faced the wrath of the KingofExplodoKills just minutes ago.

For some reason, Uraraka’s hero name had remained absent in his party list for the past thirty minutes of adventure—ever since she declared a break. _Could it be that she got bored of me? That...sounds entirely possible. Uraraka-san is such a cheerful and bright person, of course she would get bored talking to a weird person like me._

He stared at the letter in his lap, unable to will himself to open it.

Midoriya wasn’t sure if he should be up gaming till this late, but an excuse popped into his head immediately and that was the fortunate fact that today was a Friday. He opened the letter.

 

_< REMINDER>_

Hero **IamHer** is now able to advance to the next job specialization. Please approach your respective master for more information and to obtain your job specialization quest.

Master: **All Might** or **Saitama-sensei**

Just as the machina placed the letter aside and considered waiting for Uraraka’s return and doing the advancement quest together (the best idea he’d come up with in a while), he spotted another dove flying towards him from afar. It dropped another letter in his lap—this time, with a navy seal attached.

Midoriya had picked up from the gameplays he watched on HeroTube over the past couple of weeks that letters sealed with crimson wax were system-generated messages, while navy seals were sent by other players themselves.

 _Eh? But Uraraka-san isn’t online,_ assumed Midoriya at once, as though thinking she would be the only one who would send him mail. After all, he never had the honor of receiving mail even in reality and so to receive one in game and in such a short span of time...Midoriya was flattered. Until he opened it.

 

**From: KingofExplodoKills**

_What the hell are you doing in this game and what the fuck are those on your head??_

_Also, why are you posing as a girl?? Shitty nerd._

“E-eh? Kacchan...?” Midoriya froze, having least expected a letter from the king of explosions himself. The letter was decorated with bits of dried goblin blood and Bakugou’s scrawls—illegible to everyone else but the receiver himself. As always, Midoriya didn’t have a clue as to how he should be replying. He summoned a dove (they were limited to five each day) and was presented a slip of parchment paper and a pen.

 

**To: KingofExplodoKills**

_Kacchan! Thank you for your letter!_

_I bought the game yesterday. The thing on my head...it’s bunny ears ( >_<) does it look weird? Because the Machina class is not a human race...it was compulsory! I wasn’t intending to have them. Also, I’m not posing as a girl! ;A;_

He placed the letter in an envelope and presented it to the dove, which received it with its beak before flying off. Midoriya found himself checking the status of his only party member for the fourth time. CokeFloat was still offline.

_Could it be something happened to Uraraka-san? She doesn’t look the type to leave without saying goodbye either...ah, but I really want to do the advancement quest together with her._

Truth to be told, the boy only wished for a companion in his journey. The entire purpose of gaming was to have fun, was it not? Midoriya could have fun alone, sure (because he could always talk to NPCs, right? And since All Might was an NPC as well...), but he knew from the beta guides he’d read that party play was necessary at some point.

At the very thought, Midoriya recalled the pamphlet that the enthusiastic, be-spectacled hero from earlier had shoved into his arms. He pulled it out from his inventory.

 

_< CLASS A>_

_Currently recruiting dedicated guild members._

**Interview required.**

_Venue: Grey Ruins CH7 (map attached)_

_Time: 1a.m-5a.m because Kaminari Denki is strong and does not need sleep!_

_Requirement: girl._

 

He supposed it would not hurt to give the interview a go, even if he didn’t necessarily meet the criteria of being a girl. After all, Midoriya was curious about the process of guild interviews, and if that was a key part of joining every other guild, then surely he needed some practice...?

 

*

 

**[1 a.m at Grey Ruins CH7]**

**BestDenki:** Arara? Eheh hehe nanana woof

 **Hardness99:** wtf Kaminari, you’ve been like this since the end of our villain raid. _You’re_ the key interviewer here. Get a grip!

 **BestDenki:** the girls~ where are the girls~

 **Hardness99:** Lol dude, you need some sleep. Want me to call Tokoyami instead? He can replace you.

 **BestDenki:** I am green

 **Hardness99:** You’re going to scare all our interviewers away at this rate. I’m calling Tokoyami.   


Whoever it was that decided on subbing out the current interviewer, Midoriya thanked him silently. He had arrived a couple of minutes earlier with the intention of scouting the queue and perhaps meeting other heroes (making friends) who were interested in joining _< CLASS A>_ but was fairly stunned by the turnout.

Grey Ruins remained perfectly empty save the two. Their conversation had allowed the machina to confirm that they were, indeed, part of the guild and were here to conduct interviews on behalf of their guild.

At the rate they were going however, Midoriya wasn’t sure if he would like to be interviewed by them.

 

 **Hardness99:** oi

 **Hardness99:** Kaminari

 **BestDenki:** hmmmmmmm?

 **Hardness99:** there’s someone behind that tree. I see her on the mini-map.

 

Midoriya froze. He had only just mapped out his escape route and was planning on quietly making his exit through the portal on the left.

 

 **BestDenki:** GIRL

 **Hardness99:** SHUT UP BEFORE YOU SCARE HER AWAY

 **BestDenki:** TREE

 

Before Midoriya could take another step towards said escape route, he was ambushed by the two heroes from <CLASS A>—one with flaming red hair and the other, a derpy-looking blonde. There was for some reason, a comical sunflower atop his head. Whether or not it was a limited edition event hat or something he had randomly picked from the ground, Midoriya did not know.

“Hi! Are you here for Class A’s interview?” The red-head extended a hand. “I’m Kirishima Eijirou. Vice-Guildmaster of Class A.”

 

[ **Hardness99** ]

 **Level** : 50 (max)

 **Real name** : Kirishima Eijirou

 **Class:** Mercenary (warrior)

_Weilds heavy-duty weapons such as axes or hammers to crush and destroy enemies with a single hit!_

**Special skill** : Hard Skin

_Is invincible against crowd control (freeze, stun, pull, electricute) for 15 seconds._

Midoriya gingerly received the offered hand with a petrified shake. He reminded himself that meeting new people (and making new friends) simply wasn’t something he was used to doing. He was, for all intents and purposes, way out of his comfort zone. Kirishima on the other hand, grasped Midoriya’s fingers with a bone-crushing squeeze. It almost depleted his health bar.

“This is Kaminari Denki. Our senior guild member and, uh, supposedly good at conducting interviews. Supposedly. I don’t know how put him up to this—he’s probably just the only one free after our raid, so.” The derpy-looking blonde was in the middle of a nosebleed, and Midoriya swore that his eyes were reduced to a mere dots. He greeted the machina with a double thumbs-up.

 

[ **BestDenki** ]

 **Level** : 46

 **Real Name** : Kaminari Denki

 **Class** : Inquisitor (cleric)

_A cleric that can heal but prefers not to because they think they are the boss! Deals magic damage with their lightning attacks, electricuting enemies whilst dishing out a consistent pool of damage over time._

**Special skill:** Lightning storm

_Summons multiple bolts of lightning from the sky. Kills everything, including allies. (Also kills user’s sanity)_

“GIR—”

“We were wondering if you’re here for the interview,” Kirishima interrupted Kaminari’s nonsensical speech by stuffing the blonde’s wand into his mouth. “We’re also open to answering any of your questions and talking about the benefits of joining our guild.”

Midoriya forced an awkward laugh, gaze darting around the map for any sign of a saviour. “I...um. Actually, I’m still not sure about joining a guild. I’ve heard about the benefits but I’m still considerably low leveled a-and I’m not sure if you’d want someone like me on your team—”

“Nah, in fact we’re currently recruiting players under level 20 to boost our guild points when they level up,” Kirishimi dodged his excuses with a cheery grin. “Max level players like myself can’t contribute a whole lot to the point system because we don’t level up anymore.”

“Sure, you could always join other guilds to get the same guild benefits like gaining extra 20% experience when partying up with members of your guild but _we’ve_ got something special,” the red-head went on to promote (shamelessly so), dragging Kaminari to his side.

He rolled up his sleeves and did the same for his friend. “See this mark?” It appeared to Midoriya as a fancy tattoo for shady gangs. “It’s the mark of a true hero. Only the top three guilds have it, and the benefits you get from the mark is huge, so.”

“What are the benefits?”

“200% increase in popularity,” Kirishima said very seriously. The machina blinked.

 

There was however, an indiscriminate sigh that came from behind the pair which caused them to turn immediately.

“Stuff like 100% increase in drop-rate, 10% increase in damage, 10% increase in defense,” a hero with a crow-like appearance emerged from the shadows, having used the teleportation device available between members of the same guild. “It’s a useful benefit for new heroes like yourself, especially since you’re still wearing...level 1 equipment.”

“This is Tokoyami, our _other_ Vice-Guildmaster,” Kirishima introduced, and Tokoyami nodded casually. “We have three, by the way.”   

 

[ **TheDarkLord** ]

 **Level** : 50 (max)

 **Real** **Name** : Tokoyami Fumikage

 **Class** : Raven (assassin)

_An assassin that summons shadow crows to deal consistent and high damage. High mobility and low cooldowns. One of the strongest classes in game, but requires a high level of skill to maximise potential._

**Special Skill** : The End

_Hero is kept airbourne and invincible while summoning a storm of crows to assault a wide area of effect._

 

“H-hello, Tokoyami-san,” Midoriya waved stiffly, slightly intimidated after inspecting Tokoyami’s profile and his gear. They were all top-notch, legend-grade weapons and armor. _A-as expected of the top three guilds...I didn’t know <CLASS A> was one of them. I’ve only heard of something like the League of Villains (probably a reference to League of Legends, but whatever)._

“Hello, **IamHer** -san. Shall we begin the interview?” The raven asked politely, watching as Kirishima guided the derpy blonde to a block of debris and forced him to sit. Kaminari obliged, chewing on his wand. “Please introduce yourself.”

Midoriya willed himself to regard the interview as a casual testing of his social (and analytical??) skills, since he was confident that a top guild like <CLASS A> wouldn’t recruit a noob like himself.

“Uh, o-okay. I’m Midoriya Izuku, um...a Machina. I...well I only started playing this game a couple of hours ago, so. I’ve read all the beta guides on Heronet and watched gameplay footage on HeroTube! I’m still trying to get used to the mechanics and the games first-hand...b-but! I think I’m starting to get the hang of it!”

Tokoyami was awfully polite as he listened to Midoriya’s nervous rambling, nodding every now and then to indicate his attention.

“I see,” he said after the green ball of nerves had finished his introduction. “You’re dedicated. But I want to know why you chose Machina as your main class—not many first-timers make that decision, and since you’ve read the guides, you must know it’s not meta.”

 

What Tokoyami meant by ‘meta’ was that some hero specializations or classes in game were more overpowered than the rest, whilst being easy to play. These mainly included warrior classes and healer-based classes, which did not require a vast knowledge of skills while being able to play a huge role in 8-man nests or villain raids.

Simply put, they were relatively easy to master.

“I know this,” Midoriya nodded firmly, confident all of a sudden. “But I still can’t seem to change my mind. Machina has been my favourite class since the trailer came out, and it’s really because of the fighting style...it’s just like All Might!” There was a spark of passion in his eyes that Tokoyami was particularly charmed by, and would come to grow fond of.

“All Might is the hero I look up to the most. I-I just...I can’t give it up!” The Machina was sheepish in his declaration. “Even if I know it would be hard to get into a party with a non-meta class, even if I might not get as much attention as healers...I still want to choose the class that I like the most!”

The raven stared; closed his eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"You're in."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaminari’s username was inspired by an electronics retailer/store named ‘Best Denki’ HAHAHAHAHA coincidentally, it’s Japanese-owned. *dies*


	4. More Shady People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cute Midoriya meets more shady people who mistake him for a girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!! Thank you for reading as always. I'm not sure if you guys know much about Dragon Nest, but the Machina class is so similar to All Might's fighting style I just can't get it out of my head @.@ the punches are just so cool and similar! Which also reminds me that Midoriya would get his ultimate skill at lvl 40, and it's just the most amazing 'United States of Smash' that I've ever seen : > yaay

 

 

“You’re in.”

There was a definite pause as the machina took in Tokoyami’s words and then, registered them with wide and blank eyes. He did a double take as soon he processed the phrase and its future implications. It was no easy feat.

“E-eh? But!” Clumsy fingers proceeded to fish out a crumpled pamphlet from his inventory. Midoriya checked the pamphlet, a characteristic fluster surfacing without a second’s hesitation. “I don’t meet the requirement!”

The raven frowned at this, wondering just how such an adorable and strong-willed hero could be refused into their guild. In fact he didn’t recall setting any requirements for member recruitment at all.

“What do you mean, Midoriya-san?” He drew closer to the level 16, politely asking for the pamphlet. Midoriya handed it to him with two hands. As soon as Tokoyami glanced through the printed words and caught the very last ‘terms and conditions’, he released a huge sigh. The machina by his side remained confused.

Tokoyami turned to Kirishima who wasn’t all that far away, busy petting Kaminari on the head as though he was a pet rock. “Who’s the one who printed the guild recruitment pamphlets...?”

“Oh, the pamphlets?” Kirishima looked up. “Mineta. Why?”

The raven sighed once more. Midoriya could already see his health bar depleting from the headache he must be having.

“My apologies, Midoriya-san...it appears that one of our members had decided to add uneccessary conditions to the guild recruitment pamphlet,” he explained with a shake of his head as he turned back to the machina. “The one distributing them as well...it must have been Iida-kun. He’s at fault for taking Mineta’s words so seriously too. It’s just like him.”

Midoriya was hearing far too many new names within his comfort zone. He started to feel slightly overwhelmed. “O-oh no, it’s alright Tokoyami-san. You don’t have to apologize. Since it’s already printed out on the pamphlets then I-I guess I’ll be go—”

“Ah, not at all!” The raven said almost immediately, dashing the machina’s hopes of escaping his predicament in an instant. “I am voiding the condition. Either way, I do not see how you, Midoriya-san, don’t meet the requirement.”

 

Midoriya was starting to feel a hundred percent dOnE with all this gender confusion, and the fact that his bunny ears would droop whenever he was distressed didn’t help his situation. “T-Tokoyami-san, with all due respect, I am a boy!” He declared with finality. “A _boy_!”

“But...but your _name_ —”

“My name has nothing to do with my gender!” Midoriya whispered-shouted in desperation. Tokoyami appeared rather distraught.

“But...but your _ears_ —”

“It’s because I’m a Machina!”

Tokoyami considered the possibility of Midoriya having confused his sexuality. He felt strangely enlightened. “Ah...my apologies. It’s just that Machina’s are such a rare class that I’ve barely seen one in the pro scene, you see.”

Unfortunately for the half-bunny, Tokoyami was right. Midoriya himself admitted that he hadn’t met another Machina-class player so far.

“Are Machinas really that weak...?” He asked with a sigh, slightly fazed. After all, he had been an ambitious one.

“No, no! Not at all,” Tokoyami was quick to reassure him, watching as Kirishima invited Kaminari to join his party and forced him to accept it. This was so that he could transport the both of them to the nearest town and allow the lightning user to recharge his _MP_ faster (and hopefully regain his sanity). “Machinas are difficult to master. They can play a big role in 8-man villain raids but since mages and warriors tend to have similar mechanics across games, players usually stick to the classes they are used to.”

“Machinas are a new playstyle, so. Not many heroes dare to challenge change and new beginnings,” the raven led up to his final compliment in attempt to persuade Midoriya to join their guild. “That is why we need someone like you, Midoriya-sa—kun.”

 

There was an awkward silence that hovered over Grey Ruins. Tokoyami and Midoriya were the only ones left in the current map (since Kirishima had transported a certain derpy-blonde away) and neither voiced another word. They weren’t even looking at each other, for the matter. Both stared intently at the ground.

“So. Midoriya-kun. Will you join...”

“TOKOYAMI!” A high-pitched, dwarf-like voice sounded out of nowhere. “Making moves on our new girl without my permission, eh? Too bold! Too bold!!” Midoriya blinked, turning around.

He didn’t see anything.

“T-Tokoyami-san, I seem to be hearing voices...”

“Ah, not worry Midoriya-kun. If you would lower your gaze,” the raven advised his companion with a stoic expression. Upon heeding this, the latter came across (indeed, he had been right!) a dwarf-like hero with what he assumed was grapes as hair.

“G-grape-san???”

 

[ **PervLord69** ]

**Level** : 39

**Real Name:** Mineta Minoru

**Class** : Ripper (assassin)

_Destroys enemies quickly with their key agility and stealth skills._

**Special Skill:** Fade

_Become invisible to both allied heroes and enemy villains for 15 seconds, greatly decreases boss aggro for the same period of time. Coincidentally great for chasing skirts._

“You may call me Mineta-sama, young beauty!” The grape-like dwarf announced with a puffing out of his chest, making quick circles around the machina and for some reason, bending down occasionally.

Tokoyami shook his head and placed a hand on Midoriya’s shoulder, gently pulling him away from Mineta’s inspection. “Mineta. No one will ever join our guild if you treat them like this,” he warned. Midoriya was left screaming in his head. _That’s the first thing you tell him?? What about my gender???_

“U-uh, Mineta-sama...? Sorry to disappoint you but I, um, I’m a—”

“Yes, you’re a newbie. I can see that. Moreover, a machina! What a waste,” Mineta interrupted the bunny with a comical shake of his head.

Tokoyami was having thoughts about expelling the grape-head from their guild with a tap of a command when Midoriya asked what he meant by a ‘waste’. The raven laughed to himself. Apparently, Midoriya didn’t like to be told that. Or looked down upon, for the matter.

“Machinas are a rare but special breed! I rate their armor and costumes the best out of all other classes, but only at higher levels. Therefore, it is a waste and a pity that you are still in your beginner gear.”

“Stop your nonsense at once, Mineta. That is quite—”

“Oh! R-really?” Midoriya appeared rather flattered all of a sudden. “Is it because they have higher stats? Better enhancement scalings? Are they overpowered?”

Tokoyami saw it coming.

“Of course not!” Mineta was already having a nosebleed just by imagining things. Whatever it was, readers will not want to know. “Higher-leveled armor bares the thighs _and_ midriff. PERFECT!”

 

* * *

 

 

Bakugou Katsuki had enough of farming for enhancement materials. To think that he had been going at it for the past three days (and now, three _more_ )! His thoughts wandered, again, to the blacksmith that destroyed his 50 [Goblin’s Skin] and 100 [Rough Agates]. It made him feel like setting the world in flames.

Another thing that made him feel the same way was Midoriya Izuku’s appearance. That he had seen him in game, yes, but also literally—his appearance. Those _fucking_ bunny ears. _What was he doing, posing as a girl??_ The very image made his chest burn with something he knew not what. Being the angsty, hormonal teen he was Bakugou deemed it as a simple case of Midorya-angst. Very simple. Very angst.

“—waste and a pity that you are still in your beginner gear.”

The bandit was on his way back to Calderock Village from the Church Ruins when he started to hear voices coming from the main clearing ahead. Grey Ruins.

“Stop your nonsense at once, Mineta. That is quite—”

“Oh! R-really?” _What in the fuck._ “Is it because they have higher stats? Better enhancement scalings? Are they overpowered?” _What in the actual fuck was he hearing because it better not be that damned Deku or else he’d—_

_Fuck a rock. Or something._

Before Bakugou could fully register the true extent of his nonsensical cursing and realize that Mineta was checking out his childhood friend, Tokoyami spotted the bandit from afar and called him over.

“Isn’t it Bakugou?” All three of them turned to witness the best example of ‘angst’ they would ever see in their lives. “What are you doing here in Grey Ruins? You should be at Saint Haven since you’re already level 26!”

“I fucking know that, bird-face!” The bandit did not bother to restrain himself as he snapped at his senior. Tokoyami only laughed.

“This is our relatively new recruit, Bakugou Katsuki,” the raven attempted to introduce Midoriya to the ball of angst that he’d already known for more than 10 years. “Although he has a sharp tongue, Kirishima and I have promoted him to senior guild member because of his exceptional skills.” Said ball of angst growled low, glaring at the machina with ruby eyes.

“What is the damn nerd doing here?” “Ka-Kacchan...?”

They stared at each other, lost for words.

“You have a guild? _Class A?_ But—”

“Shut the hell up Deku and answer my question!” Bakugou looked as though he was about to explode from the overload of information and coincidences. Thankfully, Tokoyami was quick to interfere.

“Bakugou. Midoriya is here to attend a recruitment interview. Is there a problem? You both seem to be familiar with each other,” the raven explained patiently, gaze alternating between the blonde and the half-bunny.

The bandit was, very naturally, dissatisfied. “Oi I told you to answer my fucking question!” He threw a grenade at the ground and had Midoriya not side-stepped the attack, he would have taken damage that was equilavent to half his health pool. After all, Bakugou was not a party member and therefore, friendly-fire towards other heroes was enabled.

“How dare you speak with such a foul mouth to my beauty?” Mineta was furious. “You’re getting ahead of yourself, newbie! Just because you’ve been promoted to senior guild member within less than a week you think you can mess around with your senpai’s girl?”

_S-senpai’s...girl?_ Midoriya was certain that there was more than one misunderstanding woven into his current context and he had no idea how he should be solving it. “Kacchan! Stop it, Tokoyami-san is right, I’m only here for an interview. Why are you so mad?”

“Seeing your face makes me fucking triggered, you shit!”

_Eeeehhh??_ The machina figured that his childhood friend was being unreasonably as always and sought to reason politely.

“But Kacchan, I just have to be here for another one more minute or so. The interview is ending soon.”

Bakugou on the other hand, didn’t exactly understand that the source of his anger was, really, that he didn’t like the idea of Midoriya joining his guild and meeting other players with that shitty cute appearance of his—wait. _Wait, cute?_ Not in fucking eTerNiTY was he ever going to say that.

It was official. He was going crazy.

“Ah, fuck just get out of my sight! And you too, damned grape-head. What the fuck did you call Deku?”

Mineta was quietly intimidated by the bandit’s threatening glares (even though Bakugou was lower leveled than he was!) but refused to back down in front of a girl. It was his policy. “How dare you demean my princess by calling her names! I will not stand for this!”

Tokoyami was looking away and shaking his head, avoiding his gaze while hiding his embarassment. At this rate, Midoriya was never going to join their guild.

“HA?! Who the fuck is your fucking princess, shitty grape-head?” Bakugou felt his anger and irritation hit its high. “Deku’s a _boy_!”

“ **NANI?!** ”

 

* * *

 

 

 

It took Midoriya close to fifteen minutes to explain (as patiently and nicely as possible) that he hadn’t intended to join a guild in the first place. This was to Tokoyami and Mineta’s disappointment, while Bakugou felt immensely relieved for reasons unknown. The machina did, however, consider introducing Uraraka to the guild since they appeared to be severely lacking in female members (or so he assumed from Mineta’s abnormally obsessive behaviour around the opposite sex), since the sorceress was a friendly and amazing hero. Surely, she’d be a better addition to the guild than he was.

Nevertheless, Midoriya—the ambitious hero he was—felt fairly flattered by Tokoyami’s insistence of him joining _ <CLASS A>_. After all, it was one of the top three guilds on the board and that itself promised infinite potential and secured him spots in 8-man villain raids. Indeed, that would dismiss his concerns of not being able to find seven members that would want him as a party member.

All practicality aside, Midoriya wanted friends. Of course he did; and Tokoyami’s promise of leaving his guild offer open to the machina at any point of time should he change his mind made everything slightly harder.

Simply put, Midoriya could not get _< CLASS A>_ out of his mind.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

**From: CokeFloat**

_Midoriya-kun, I’M SORRY! ;A; I fell asleep in the kitchen while I was getting a glass of coke yesterday! Aaa I was too tired then...I’m so sorry!! Did you wait very long last night?? I’M REALLY VERY SORRY!! If you’d like, let’s do today’s daily event quest together? I will be online after school at about 7 in the evening!_

 

Midoriya read the letter with fingers that trembled in sheer joy and excitement. _I’m not boring!!_ Yes, that was the very first thought that came to his mind then. The machina was relieved that Uraraka had not been tired of his company and actually suggested that they party up later in the evening to do the daily event quest. To him, it was a miracle.

Instantly, he summoned a dove and scribbled an excited reply—expressing two paragraphs of his enthusiasm and honor only to notice that the parchment paper ran out of space and so he had to summon _another_ dove to write that he’d be waiting for her to come online after dinner.

It was only after Midoriya had calmed his poor doki-doki-maiden-heart that he had the ability to glance through his list of quests and decide which he should do and which he should forgo. The most important, of course, being his specialization quest. Featuring his favourite NPC, All Might.

Job advancement was a huge thing in the game. It meant attaining a whole bunch of new skills and being presented a hero costume of his own, aside from having enhanced stats and a larger health pool.

Midoriya however, wasn’t too sure if he was ready to meet All Might.

 

He began by exploring Calderock Village and searching for the masters by asking various NPCs. The blacksmith (NPC that destroyed Bakugou’s enhancement materials all at one go) took one look at his appearance and immediately offered him a quest. Apparently, NPCs favored girl gamers as well.

“Oooh, a machina ain’t ‘cha? That’s some beginner weapons an’ armor ya got there. Here, why don’t’cha complete this quest an’ I’ll give ya some new ones, eh? They be smashin’.” Blacksmith Berlin wriggled his brows at the pun and Midoriya forced an awkward laugh.

“N-now? But I have to do my job advancement quest...”

“Aye! It’s in the same map as the crystal ya have to obtain for the advancement! Convenient! Now, take uff yer clothes and lemme take yer measurements for the armor.”

Before Midoriya could protest and express his absolute nOPE for the game’s strangely (actually fairly usual in every MMORPG) high number of perverts that included the NPCs, he was interrupted by another customer of the blacksmith’s.

“Main weapon enhancement please.”

It was a mage. A sorcerer, to be exact. All it took was a single glance at his gear for Midoriya to cower in fear at the sheer level of his armor. Just like Tokoyami’s, they were legend-grade equipment and the sorcerer was decked from head to toe with it.

“Oh it’s you again,” the blacksmith sighed. “Aight, let’s see what ya got.”

Midoriya scrambled out of the customer’s way as his staff was handed over. The machina had his eyes glued to the elaborate design. Unlike Uraraka’s wooden staff, the mage’s was made out of ice—a special staff often wield by Elestras, a class that specialized in the control of the ice element. _So cool,_ he thought as Blacksmith Berlin inspected the weapon and placed it over the steel furnace. The ice did not melt.

“Aight, that’d be 5421 gold.” Midoriya’s eyes popped, and he could not help but stare as the mage produced a huge bag of gold coins from his inventory and began transfering it to the NPC.

“W-wait, it’s just _one_ enhancement,” the machina interrupted the transaction, unable to control his curiosity. “Why is it so expensive?”

Perhaps Midoriya’s fair amount of guide-reading had finally left a gap in his knowledge of the game. As far as he knew, at most 5 gold was needed per enhancement of a main weapon. _Unless..._

“It’s legend-grade,” the mage said rather indifferently, as though 5.4k gold was an easy spend. “And it’s +13 to +14.”

It hit him. Understanding did. “B-but that’s less than a 5% success rate, to go from +13 to +14,” said the machina anxiously, recalling that the beta players he’d watched only managed to get their weapons to at most +10 before running out of gold. Moreover, there were other equipment to enhance, including secondary weapons, headgear, top, bottom, shoes, gloves...there was simply no way he had that much luck or money.

The sorcerer with strangely attractive, mismatched eyes only shrugged, giving the blacksmith a single nod to indicate that he was ready to enhance.

Said NPC sighed, raising his magic hammer. “Here goes the 17th time...”

_17 th time?!?! _Midoriya’s jaw dropped. _If this was his 17 th time enhancing from +13 to +14, wouldn’t that mean a total of 17 x 5421 gold went into enhancing his weapon so far? W-wait, 17 x 5421 is...92 thousand...92 147 gold?? Eeeeeehhh??? _

The machina found that he wasn’t breathing, not until fireworks appeared in the middle of the day above channel 7 of Calderock Village and a world message appeared to all players.

 

 

**IonlyUseIce**   ~~ **[IonlySwimFree]**~~ has successfully enhanced [+14 Evolved Ice Dragon Staff]!

 

The world chat erupted with a flurry of congratulations and acknowledgement.

**[BestDenki]:** OMG IDOL

**[SideChara1]:** WTF +14??? ISN’T THAT THE FIRST IN THE SERVER??

**[BestDenki]:** +15 or gay : >

**[SuperTape]:** obviously gay

**[SideChara2]:** what kind of name is **IonlyUseIce**??

**[SideChara2]:**  dumb naming sense

**[BestDenki]:** Lolll jealoussss

**[PervLord69]:** OPPAI

 

It took Midoriya longer than expected to mute the world chat and he was about to offer his congratulations to the ice elemental when the latter was already forking out more gold. “E-eh? Um...”

“One more. 10842 gold, right?”

Even the blacksmith had enough by this point. “Dude. Honestly, i’z not gonna make much of a difference even if ya—”

“Just do it,” the mage forced his gold onto the NPC. “I’m going to prove to that shitty master of mine that I can win even without using the fire skills he gave me.” Midoriya blinked at the sudden angst that appeared on Mr. Cool-dude’s face. It was oddly attractive.

“Fine, fine! Don’t haf ta threaten me, aight?” Blacksmith Berlin held up his hands, grumbling low. “+15?”

The customer nodded.

“Here goes nuttin’—”

 

 

Second fireworks of the day. Midoriya could not believe he had just witnessed the very sight of what would come to be known as a legend.

**IonlyUseIce** has successfully enhanced [ **+15** Evolved Ice Dragon Staff]!

 

 

[World Chat]:

**[KingofExplodoKills]:** BULLFUCKINGSHIT

**[SideChara3]:** seriously?????

**[BestDenki]:** WTF TODOROKI, YOU REALLY WENT AND DID IT???

**[SuperTape]:** obviously... _not_ gay

**[BestDenki]:** dude, if you just wanted to prove that you’re not gay you could have _told_ us

**[BestDenki]:** didn’t have to go to the trouble to _actually_ +15

**[BestDenki]:** Yaoyorozu, say something!!

**[Hardness99]:** She’s not online...but todoroki, really?

 

The names in the world chat were starting to get awfully familiar, and it was then that Midoriya realized he hadn’t actually turned off the world chat, but switched to a different channel—one that was awfully quiet. It was times like these that the machina felt awfully hopeless and clumsy, silently glad that Uraraka wasn’t here to notice his mistakes.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Dilemma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midoriya does the daily event quest with Uraraka and some other unexpected heroes. Blacksmith Berlin crafts him a new set of armor but...issues ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you @Selpuku for the Machina!Midoriya fanart~ it amused me thoroughly and I almost fainted from the cuteness.

It was nearing five in the afternoon by the time Midoriya completed all his quests, including the ones that the blacksmith had entrusted to him and the job advancement quest that was the pre-requisite for entering the ‘Room of Trials’. There were two parts to his fervent excitement; the first being a brand-new set of hero weapons and armor which were bestowed upon him by the perverted blacksmith NPC (nevertheless of good quality and uh...strangely suspicious design); and the second being the crystal that he could use to enter the ‘Room of Trials’ and meet his idol All Mi—advance to the next job.

He had been transported to the dark and dingy room lit by torches on the wall, arriving before the two masters of his class, Machina. It was unfortunate that the NPCs did not notice Midoriya’s adorable appearance that was coincidentally enhanced by the customized armor that the blacksmith had made for him.

Strictly put, it had been for male machinas—just that there _were_ no male machinas. Machinas were typically girls.

“Um. Mr. Berlin?” The player had asked tentatively upon trying out the armor. Mineta had been spot on about the machina costume design. “I’m a boy.”

“Really!” Blacksmith Berlin had done a double take then, and attempted to correct his mistake. “Righto, just wear some shorts underneath ‘at skirt of yers and yer off ta go!” He handed the machina a pair of shorts. “Not ta worry. It looks like a skirt, sure—but from behind, it’s just a pair of regular shorts! Look great ta me!”

And that was how Midoriya ended up with a female machina’s armor. Save the shorts underneath. It was the only thing that allowed him to retain his dignity.

Anywho, the boy had been far too mesmerized by All Might’s presence to care about his own appearances; and by the time he had successfully completed his job advancement whilst showering All Might with essay after essay of praise and worship, he was feeling a tad bit hungry from training.

“SHOUNEN!” His master had boomed with his signature smile and radiant voice. “You have chosen the path of greatness!”

“HAI!”

“You shall rise above the evil of Lagendia—”

“HAI!”

“And be the—”

“HAI!”

“Greatest hero of—”

“HAI!”

 

“anerroroccured,pleasereporterroroveratourgame’sforumsiteorexitthegame,error234199.”

Midoriya could not believe that the game had crashed on him at the most crucial moment, and was beyond disappointed that he didn’t get to interact further with his idol All Might. He was hoping to hear his signature catchphrase, even.

By the time Midoriya restarted his Nervegear and logged back into the game, he had been brought back to Calderock Village with a whole list of new skills.

Although excited, the machina heard his tummy calling for dinner and decided to take a closer look at his new skills only after dinner. His mother would probably need help in the kitchen as well, and being Midoriya Izuku, he’d always do his best to help her.

 

* * *

 

**[After dinner]**

 

 

Midoriya checked the time. It was half-past seven in the evening, which meant that Uraraka was online and it was time for them to do their daily event quest together. Naturally, the teen could not control his excitement as soon as he checked his friends list and saw her name in green. Bakugou’s was as well, but obviously, that was something he should steer clear of.

Nervous, he sent the sorceress a quick private message.

 **[You to CokeFloat]** : Uraraka-san! Have you had your dinner?

 **[CokeFloat to you** ]: Midoriya-kun!!! Yes, I have. I was waiting for you! (Midoriya blushed a little at that) By the way, are you at Calderock Village? Come to the fountain, I’ve got something to show you!

The machina was pink with joy. He hadn’t expected Uraraka to _wait_ for a complete noob like himself, let alone _invite_ him over to the fountain—or anywhere at all—to show him something. He was curious to see what it was, and practically ran over from the merchant stores.

“Midoriya-kun!” A familiar voice called out to him and an instant smile appeared on his face as soon as he caught sight of a cheery Uraraka. “Over here!”

The machina hurried over. He however, froze upon realizing that Uraraka was already in a party—and that her party members looked awfully familiar as well.

“Ah, Midoriya-san,” Tokoyami acknowledged with a calm nod. “Uraraka-san was telling us about your plans to complete the daily event quest. We should do it together.”

 

Midoriya recovered after several blinks, turning to Uraraka with an expression of surprise. “E-eh? Uraraka-san, you know Tokoyami-san...?”

“Iida-kun introduced him!” The bubbly sorceress gestured at a fellow gladiator with strangely stiff hands that seemed to be fixed in a ‘stop’ sign. Midoriya identified him as the one who handed out the guild recruitment pamphlets to him and Uraraka just yesterday. “I bumped into Iida-kun about an hour ago, and I asked him how the recruitment was going! He said it wasn’t doing well, so I asked if I could try out for an interview.”

 

[ **MeganeBoy** ]

 **Level:** 29

 **Real Name:** Iida Tenya

 **Class:** Gladiator (warrior)

_Gladiators have exceptionally fast attacks and speed through dungeons with ‘dash’, enabling them to complete villain raids at record time._

**Special skill:** Line Drive

_Charges up a burst of speed before driving a 15-meter-cut forward in 0.2 seconds. Fastest skill in game._

 

“Hai!” Iida Tenya spoke up all of a sudden with a strange salute. “Uraraka-san has been a great help to the guild so far, doing her part as a contributing member and motivating others with her enthusiasm!”

 _Wait wait wait wait...Uraraka-san has already joined the guild?_ Midoriya could not help but feel slightly disappointed that he hadn’t been informed of this (no no no, why would he have the right to feel disappointed? He had only been friends with her for less than a day—or so he thought). Aside from that, he was beginning to regret rejecting the guild offer from Tokoyami last night.

“Why the long face, Midoriya-kun?” The cheery sorceress drew closer to pass a hand in front of his eyes and the latter practically burned brighter than a strawberry. “Is something bothering you? Ah, I like your new outfit by the way. You haven’t enhanced it yet but it looks so cute on you! Your gauntlet also look _sooo_ cool!”

The machina was all sheepish smiles within a fraction of a second. “R-really? You think so?” He scratched the back of his head. “The blacksmith made it for me. It’s kinda weird because it looks like the female’s armor...”

“Don’t worry! It doesn’t look weird at all. I think you look super cool and cute at the same time!!” Uraraka’s eyes sparkled and Midoriya was sold by her opinion at once. It didn’t take much. “Shall we start on the daily event quest? I’m excited to do it with everyone.”

“Yes please! I will proceed to invite Midoriya-kun into the party! And he shall proceed to accept it! And we shall all the proceed to the Dark Tower Magic Institute and kill Queen Raren 20 times! Proceed!” Iida listed of the list of things that they listed to do. He was apparently fond of lists.

Although Midoriya had accepted the invitation with an awkward smile on his face (Tokoyami, for some reason, was staring at him intensely), there was a certain discomfort that remained deep within. One that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

 

* * *

 

 

 **[CokeFloat to you]:** Midoriya-kun?

The machina was caught completely off-guard by the sudden whisper that Uraraka had sent him while they breezed their way through the spider’s lair. Tokoyami and Iida were, of course, in the lead. Simply put; Midoriya was being carried.

 **[You to CokeFloat]:** U-Uraraka-san? Ah, I’m not really good at multi-tasking, by the way, so uh, I, these spiders are, uh, kinda tough at the moment.

 **[CokeFloat to you]:** Ei~ but think about it, if not for your upgraded equipment, you would have died at the entrance!

Uraraka laughed, and although Midoriya was particularly embarrassed that his new friend had laughed in his ear (uwaaa), he wasn’t sure if she was being low-key savage. Well even if she was, it was in a very cute manner.

 **[You to CokeFloat]:** Uraraka-san...why did you decide to join Class A? A-and such a fast decision...ahh I’m not doubting your decision or anything! It’s just curiosity! Curiosity.

 

 **Quest** : _Defeat Queen Raren_ **12/20**

Apparently, Tokoyami and Iida had already ‘proceeded’ onward to the last stage of the dungeon and cleared the boss without the pair even having to step into the portal. Much fast. Efficient very.

 **[CokeFloat to you]:** Oh...so that’s what you were wondering about.

 **[CokeFloat to you]:** It’s really just because I didn’t want Iida-kun to worry about the lack of recruits! He appeared rather down because of it, since despite his enthusiastic efforts, no one turned up for the interview...

 _!!! Only because the interview was at 1 a.m and had a sexist requirement!!_ Thought Midoriya. He didn’t voice this. _Uraraka-san is really kind..._

 **[CokeFloat to you]:** Ah! Except you, right? You turned up at Grey Ruins last night. Tokoyami told me! Ei~ look at you...wanting to help as well, right? You’re so kind, Midoriya-kun!

“Midoriya-kun?” Tokoyami was, once again, staring intently at the machina’s face as they waited for the ‘dungeon clear!’ sign to appear. “Why are you blushing at a spider sac?”

 

* * *

 

 

“So then, I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Uraraka yawned, stretching her arms above her head. “Thanks for the run. It was soooo fun. Tokoyami-kun and Iida-kun were both sooo overpowered. Let’s do our best to become powerful heroes like them, right? Midoriya-kun!” Uraraka shone like a diamond in the sky, having leveled up twice from the quest. She was now a level 20 sorceress.

“Hai! Otsukaresamaarigatougozaimashita!!” Iida dropped into a ninety-degree bow and shouted something that sounded like a spell. He tended to speak very quickly. “Uraraka-san and Midoriya-kun motivated us very much throughout the runs!”

It was very sweet of him to say so, and Midoriya could not help but feel that both Iida and Tokoyami were exceptionally nice for helping them complete their daily event quest with ease.

“See you tomorrow, Uraraka-san!” The machina waved, and she returned his sheepish smile with a radiant grin before logging off. “Once again, thank you Tokoyami-kun and Iida-kun, for helping me. I wasn’t very helpful, was I?”

Iida waved his hands aggressively. “No no no, Midoriya-kun! I really liked your company!”

Tokoyami cleared his throat, finding the floor very interesting all of a sudden. “I-indeed, Midoriya-kun. And it must be noted that you have yet to attain your level 24 skills. Please do not think that you are useless in any manner. You will soon become an exceptinal hero.”

The encouragement given lifted his spirits immensely. All of a sudden, joining _< Class A>_ didn’t seem like a bad idea at all. _But how was he to shamelessly request to join a guild he’d only rejected a couple of hours ago?_

It would make him seem fickle. At most, hypocritical.

 

* * *

 

 

The three of them went separate ways soon after adding each other to their friend lists. It certainly made the machina honored to have more than one person on his list. Of course, he had always assumed that a blank screen would pop up whenever the ‘buddy’ system came on.

At present, Midoriya decided that he should pay Blacksmith Berlin a visit to enhance his weapons. The 20 Queen Rarens that Tokoyami and Iida had helped him to eliminate had resulted in his gaining of experience points, which therefore accounted for the three levels he’d ascended.

_Maybe I’ll just get my weapons to +7. Or +8, if I’m lucky...my attack damage should double in that case. I could also get my armors to +6 to increase my health pool and defense! That way, I won’t be a squishy target. But do I have enough enhancement materials to do so? Well I did complete the daily event quest twice, so I’ve got a good amount...and it’s not as if my gears are epic grade so—_

“Why the hell are you walking in my path, shitty nerd?”

Midoriya glanced up, blinking at the sight before his eyes. “K-Kacchan? I, um...but this is a public path?”

“Shut the hell up, Deku,” the machina’s childhood friend closed the distance and reached out to grab the collar of his coat. Midoriya squeaked. “Yesterday, you pissed me off with that shitty ears of yours and now you’re wearing a shitty _skirt_?? What the hell is wrong with you—are you trying to pick a fight?”

“No, no, Kacchan! You’re mistaken!” Midoriya protested, jerking out of the bandit’s grasp before backing away. “Really, really! The blacksmith—”

“Mistaken about what, huh?” Bakugou advanced, and the faster he did, the more Midoriya scrambled backwards. Until he sort of...hit a wall.

Passing players didn’t stop to look. They assumed it was merely a couple’s banter. NPCs turned their heads in the pair’s direction because they were programmed to do so.

“K-Kacchan, listen to me...you’re mistaken! This isn’t a skirt, _see_ —”

“DON’T FUCKING LIFT YOUR SKIRT IN BROAD FUCKING DAYLIGHT YOU SHITTY NERD W-WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE TRYING TO DO—”

“No, Kacchan just, just look—”

“WHAT FUCK I DON’T FUCKING _WANT_ TO LOOK!” Bakugou was shielding his eyes with an arm and (struggling to) direct his gaze elsewhere. “CAN YOU JUST. STOP LIFTING IT UP.”

“Kacchan...why won’t you listen to me?”

“It’s broad fucking _daylight_ , Deku, people don’t just—whether or not you’re—oh for fuck’s sake.”

The machina was confused. He looked under his skirt. It was just a pair of ordinary shorts. Sure, it hadn’t been enhanced, but it provided sufficient agility stats...

“E-eh...? Then, should we go behind that house over there—”

“That’s not the point!” Bakugou hissed in the height of (what he considered was) one of his most terrible cases of Midoriya-angst. “Now shut up and stay away from me, you got that? Don’t fucking follow me!”

“I...I wasn’t following you,” the machina felt his shoulders sink, still generally confused about his childhood friend’s earlier outburst. “I was going to enhance my weapons when we just happened to bump into each other...”

Bakugou did not appear very happy about his latter statement. “What? You’re going to the shitty blacksmith too...? Okay, fuck this.”

He logged off.

 

 _EEEEEEHHHHHHHHH_ ;-;

Midoriya had to admit, he did feel fairly disappointed that Bakugou wouldn’t even spend a couple of seconds with him at a blacksmith. After all, it wasn’t as though they needed to have a conversation there...it was just the enhancing part.

A fatigued sigh escaped his lips. _Dealing with Kacchan is so hard..._

And so, in attempt to forget about his angsty friend (was Bakugou even his friend in school? W-well), the machina started towards the blacksmith to get his equipment enhanced and powered up. Plus Ultra, y’know?

“Honestly man, stahp wastin’ yer gold tryin’a get this spell book to +13...level 12 is sufficient. I promise, okay?” Blacksmith Berlin appeared to be having a hard time dealing with his customer as much as Midoriya could not deal with Bakugou. He noticed at one however, that the NPC was talking to a very familiar-looking customer.

 

[ **IonlyUseIce** ]

 **Level** : 50 (max)

 **Real Name** : Todoroki Shouto

 **Class** : Elestra (sorcerer)

_Originally an Elemental Lord, Elestras have the ability to utilize both ice and fire skills during battle, but chooses to specialize in ice abilities. Freezing opponents stack 150% (author exagerates) damage, making them one of the strongest party members to have._

**Special Skill** : Blizzard

_A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I’m the Queen._

 

Ah! It’s that sorcerer from before. The rich and cool and attractive elestra.

Apparently, that was how Todoroki had been categorized in Midoriya’s mind. “Hello, Mr. Berlin. I would like to get my equipment enhanced.”

“Eh, sure. I’ll do yers while this guy goes ta get his materials from the storage...hopeless,” the blacksmith shook his head, as though he had had enough of rich customers for the day. “Sure, I earn a hella lot from these heroes but y’know...eats at my conscience.” _Then don’t burn our materials and break our weapons!!!_

Midoriya produced his claw and requested for an enhancement to +6. It went fairly smoothly. After all, the enhancement rate for rare equipment like his was the highest at 75%. As he was about to go straight for his gauntlet enhancement, the cold Elestra returned with enhancement materials from his storage.

He paused at the familiar face, nodding once to acknowledge his presence.

_S-so cool..._

“Wait. Ar ya sure ‘bout this? You’ve spent more than 50k tryin’a get this spell book of yers to +13 but ya have to admit, yerr luck’s run out after ‘at +15 in the afternoon—”

 

[ **IonlyUseIce** has successfully enhanced +13 Evolved Ice Dragon Spell book!]

 

“SOMEONE’S MESSING WITH MY RNG. WHO IS IT?? OWN UP NOW!!” Blacksmith Berlin glanced around warily, aggressively shaking his fist in the air. Even NPCs get tired of the game’s coding at times. After all, it wasn’t just the players who wanted to hack the system at times.

Midoriya laughed, and it was this precious sound of pure joy and mirth that caught Todoroki’s attention. He found the machina’s laugh to be strangely...beautiful.

“What’s your name?” The elestra turned to him with a seemingly indifferent expression. Midoriya was low-key panicking because lol why would a pro like Todoroki be talking to a noob like him. Much less want to know his _name_? Ha.

“M-my name? As in, my hero name—a-ah even my hero name is weird uh, bbbut I can explain! But you probably don’t have much time on your hands, d-do you? So, uh, it’s just...yeah, I’m the um, **IamHer**...” the machina finished lamely.

Todoroki shook his head, taking a step closer. “No. Your real name,” he stared intently. “I would like to know your real name.”

Mission ABORTED. Midoriya was about to faint from the intensity of his gaze and the fact that someone (any human being at all) was invading his personal space and not being entirely aware that he was doing so at all. Does Todoroki even aware? Author is unsure.

“Aah! My...my real name?? Eh! Mi-Mi-Midoriya Izuku dddddesu!”

 

Blacksmith Berlin (being the NPC he was) could not stop alternating his gaze between the two, since his programming was a bit messed up by the two heroes standing before him. There was a definite pause as no one said a word.

It was at a time like this that Midoriya received a private message (whisper) in his ear that he was thoroughly startled by.

[ **KingofExplodoKills to you** ]: Oi, Deku

_Kacchan??_

[ **KingofExplodoKills to you** ]: Where the hell are you

[ **You to KingofExplodoKills** ]: Eeh? Ka-Kacchan? So suddenly...

“Midoriya-san?” Todoroki was speaking to him.

“E-eh? Yes! Midoriya is me. I mean, yes, I am him. Midoriya-san.”

[ **KingofExplodoKills to you** ]: What, you got a problem with me PMing you??

[ **KingofExplodoKills to you** ]: Come to the trading house

While the poor level 19 remained completely puzzled by his childhood friend’s untimely request and thoroughly intimidated by Todoroki’s aura (a hero clad in legendary-grade equipment from head to toe like wHaT), the latter posed yet another question.

“You...could you stay here for the next armor that I’m trying to enhance?”

Midoriya snapped out of it, focusing on the overwhelming confusion that flooded his mind all of a sudden.

“Of course...?” He could not see a problem with that. In fact, it was a rather strange request to make but nevertheless, nothing out of hand. He stayed. Todoroki’s expression didn’t change very much, but the machina could have sworn he’d seen his eyes soften just a little.

[ **KingofExplodoKills to you** ]: Don’t you dare fucking ignore me, shitty nerd. Leave that blacksmith and come here now.

“Midoriya-san?” The elestra asked with a frown that was barely noticeable. “Is something wrong?”

The machina found himself in a tight situation, stuck between the cold-hearted but surprisingly soft elestra, and his sensitive, hot-blooded childhood friend.

 

Stress levels = plus ultra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL okay so I've been noticing that I simplify a whole lot of game mechanics so that it's easy to understand ;-; DN players please don't kill me hahahaha I've been playing the game for 5 years. Also, I update every Saturday/Sunday!


	6. Colosseum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Todoroki adds Midoriya to his friend list and Bakugou does not know how he feels about that.

 

 

“Midoriya-san?” Todoroki repeated, leaning down to level their gaze. “Are you replying to a whisper?”

The machina snapped out of his trance only to realize that the sorcerer’s face was very, very close to his own. “E-eh? How did you know?” He jumped back in surprise, looking around nervously. “Yes, someone...uh, a friend of mine was looking for me. I’m not very good at dealing with him, so...”

“I see,” Todoroki replied simply. “You appeared rather distraught.”

Midoriya smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “W-was I that obvious? Ah, or maybe you’re a very sharp person, uh...elestra-san.”  

“Todoroki.”

“Eh?”

“Todoroki Shouto,” the elestra extended a hand. “It’s my name.”

 

Midoriya was on the brink of short-circuiting at the very fact that a legendary, top-geared hero was introducing himself and offering to shake his hand. His _hand_. “Nnnnnice to meet you, T-T-Todoroki-sama. I-I-I Midoriya. Sorry I stammer. I-I mean, my stammering. I’m sorry!”

Todoroki was thoroughly amused by the machina’s manner of speech and found that he was trying not to laugh. How long had it been since he was trying not to express any form of happiness? After all, _don’t let them see, don’t let them know._

“You don’t need to be so formal, Midoriya-san.”

“Ah! Really? Then, it’s alright for you as well, T-T-Todoroki-kun.” There was a moment’s pause as Midoriya became increasingly aware of the awkward, mushy smile on his face. _Uwaaa this is escalating very quickly?? How should I tell him that Kacchan is waiting for me—_

“Midoriya, then.” Todoroki seemed to have adapted rather quickly to their closer terms, remaining unfazed by the reduced formalities. “You should go to your friend.”

The machina was instantly washed with a sense of relief, effectively sweeping him off his feet. “Really? Todoroki-kun, you’re so understanding...I was afraid you’d be mad, since I promised to stay while you upgrade your equipment.”

Todoroki found that the relaxed smile that replaced all anxiety on Midoriya’s face from before suited him very well.

“It’s nothing. Perhaps we could meet another time?” He sent a friend request upon suggesting the latter statement, sending Midoriya into further panic.

“S-s-s-sure! Of course, Todoroki-sama—kun,” the machina dropped into a formal bow. “Do do do do I accept this friend request? Could it be a mistake? Could you have accidentally sent it just like I did to—ah! I’m sorry, Todoroki-kun would never make a mistake like that, would he? I-I mean, Todoroki-kun doesn’t make mistakes, does he? Ah, why am I speaking like that when Todoroki-kun is right in front of me? Excuse me for being rude!”

The elestra was, once more, thoroughly amused. There was nothing more or less that he felt from watching Midoriya behave around him.

Little did he know, it was the mere surface of a pond that he’d been staring at.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Kacchan!” Midoriya hollered at the back of his childhood friend. He had spotted him halfway across the merchant stores, tapping his foot impatiently. It was only then that he realized just how familiar he was with Bakugou’s back—one that he’d been admiring since they were four. Midoriya had always been watching his back.

Always.

“About time, shitty nerd.” The bandit whipped around with a glare, expression full of Midoriya-angst. “Fuckin’ told you to come fifteen minutes ago.”

Midoriya bit his lower lip in distress, trying to think of an excuse he could use. “I already told you I was busy, Kacchan...what’s so urgent that you have to meet me now? Couldn’t...couldn’t this be done another time?”

“No way in hell was I going to let you stay at the blacksmith’s for another god-damned second,” Bakugou was having a bad case of angst, and this was demonstrated by his fondness for Midoriya’s collar. He absolutely adored grabbing those things. Collars. Grabbing collars.

“E-eh?” The machina struggled to remove himself from Bakugou’s grasp. “But how did you know I was at the blacksmith’s?”

“I fucking saw—” The angry pomeranian paused; then thought against the truth. “Never mind. Forget it.”

Midoriya was left confused. It wasn’t all that unusual, really. Bakugou confused him all the time. He couldn’t even tell aggression and sexual tension apart. “So...what is it that you wanted?”

It hadn’t crossed the machina’s mind that Bakugou had something for him. Normally, he was correct to assume that the only reason his childhood friend wanted to see him was to ensure that he wasn’t penning down his hero notes. For whatever reason, he wasn’t entirely sure of.

Something was hurled at Midoriya’s face. Thank heavens for his increased agility in game, really. The machina caught it just in time.

 

 

You have acquired [ **Midnight Shorts** ]

 **Class** : Machina (Male)

 **Level** **requirement** : 32

 **Defense** : +30

 **HP** : +2960

 **Charm** : +1920??

 

 **Designer** : Midnight

 

 

“K-Kacchan...?” Midoriya glanced up from the pair of jet-black shorts. “Is...is this for me?”

The bandit looked away with a grunt. “Just fucking use it before I kill you.”

Green eyes lit up in sheer joy and appreciation. Sparkly, kira kira, mofu mofu, whatever they call it. “Kacchan...”

“Shut up and wear it, Deku!”

“I can’t _now_!” Midoriya protested, holding up the shorts to his childhood friend, trying his best to prove his point. “It’s level 32, Kacchan. 13 more levels to go...”

“The fuck?”

Bakugou inspected the machina’s stats and found that it was actually his first time doing so. His first time. He hadn’t even known Midoriya’s level. Apparently, Bakugou was an impulse buyer. Shorts? Buy.

“This is dumb as fuck. Damn you, Deku for being such a low-leveled noob. How are you supposed to fight villains like that?” The ball of angst raged indiscriminately, expressing once more his fondness for Midoriya’s collar.

“Let go of me, Kacchan!”

“I’ll blow you up if you don’t get to level 32 by today!” Bakugou threatened harmlessly before Midoriya pointed out that he couldn’t ascend 13 levels within an hour (it was 11pm). The bandit was an-ge-ry. Angery because Midoriya was right and getting to level 32 within an hour _was_ an impossible feat.

Bakugou released his grip on the machina’s collar and paged through his inventory.

The second thing of the day flew in his general direction. This time, Midoriya could not catch it in any manner because the item was far too big.

“Wear this shit.”

 

You have acquired: [ **Adventurer’s** **Cloak** ]

 **Class** : ALL

 **Level** **Requirement** : None

 **Designer** : Horikoshi

 

“K...Kacchan!!” The joy and mirth that shone in Midoriya’s eyes could not be compared to the immense pounding of angst against the back of Bakugou’s mind. To hell with everything.

“Thank you so much,” the machina equipped the maroon hooded cloak and true enough, it managed to cover his exposed thighs and midriff. Most importantly, the not-skirt. It was key. “It’s so cool, Kacchan. A-are you sure you’re giving me this? How about you?”

As usual, Midoriya was always asking about him and it pissed the bandit off immensely. “Tsk, just shut up and wear it.”

“Um,” his childhood friend blinked, glancing down at the cloak he had equipped. It was really pretty. “Okay then. Thanks again, Kacchan.”

“Whatever,” Bakugou dismissed the machina’s adorable smile with a turn of his back. “Just make sure you un-equip the damned thing when you’re in a villain raid or your shitty self’ll trip over it or something.”

He left the trading house feeling surprisingly less angsty than before, clearly missing the healing abilities of Midoriya’s smile simply because he hadn’t turned around to see the happy flush on his face.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 _Hmm...the beta guides said that I would have acquired another key skill at level 18...but I can’t seem to test it in town since it’s a safe area._ Midoriya was on his 26th time circling the town square fountain, muttering to himself about the various combo skills he had obtained upon leveling up. _I’m level 19 now, so I should have gotten the skill but I’ve read that testing it on mid-villains aren’t as effective as it is against another player in the PvP (player versus player) mode, since certain boss villains are able to dodge my attacks a-and what if they counter with their skills while I’m charging mine? I’ve noticed that my punches can be pretty slow even though they have high damage output, since I require a longer time to charge so if—_

“Oh! Isn’t it Midoriya-san?” A familiar red-head called out to him as soon as he passed the fountain, saving Midoriya from the road to self-destruction and from the readers having crossed-eyes. “What are you doing here, circling the fountain?”

“Kirishima-san?” The machina tried his best to recall the name of the warrior, smiling sheepishly as he stared at the huge axe the hero had on his back. “I, uh, I hope I got that right.”

“Yeah! You remembered, haha,” Kirishima seemed rather pleased that he did, “that’s a nice-looking cloak you have there, by the way. You’d look like that fairy tale character if you put the hood up. What’s she called again...? Oh yeah, red riding hood was it?”

Midoriya had conveniently forgotten that everyone except for Tokoyami, Mineta and Uraraka (discounting Bakugou since the angry pomeranian was his childhood friend) assumed his gender wrongly.

“Um...ha, ha...i-is that so?” The machina could not think of a better response and was about to remind Kirishima of his masculinity (did midoriya even masculine? Author does not know) when the latter slapped him with a ‘gtg!’.

“Gotta hit the colosseum in a minute,” the mercenary appeared especially keen. “Everyone’s gathering for a guild PvP session, so. See ya, Midoriya-san!” He gave a final wave and was transported to the Colosseum with the tap of a command.

 

Midoriya was left harping on the idea of going to the colosseum—a certain map only accessible in safe areas, catered towards heroes who wished to enhance their skills by training against other players themselves instead of A.I. (artificial intelligence).

He dropped the menu system with a command word and hovered his finger over ‘PVP COLOSSEUM’. _Well...the worst that could happen was him getting trashed by other heroes, right?_ Or so Midoriya had thought.

 

* * *

 

 

He sent the next A.I. hurtling towards the fence before lifting it with a _flying knee kick_ , ending the combo with a massive _beat down_ that left a considerable impact on the fence (and the area around it).

Midoriya was satisfied with what he’d made out of his training session in the colosseum so far—even though he’d been a tad too chicken to actually join the rooms that had already been created for other players. It explained his being stuck in ‘ **IamHer’s** training room’ for the past hour, forming tactics and basic combos in his mind whilst self-learning the ‘area of effect’ of his skills.

Having spent sufficient time forming combos of his own, Midoriya decided to take a tour around the rest of the colosseum to check out other PVP rooms, created by other heroes. He thought then, perhaps, he could spectate the fighting styles of other players and learn from there. 

Just then however, the machina spotted something that caught his eye at once. 

 

** [Class A PVP Arena]**

**Mode:** Kill or Fall

 **Status:** Almost full [9/10]

 **Spectators** : [12/20]

_There’s...no harm spectating just one match, is there?_ The machina found himself thinking. After all, learning from the one of the top 3 guilds would add on to his pool of knowledge and polish up on what he’d already learnt.

Midoriya knocked tentatively on the door (he didn’t even have to) before entering and came upon a professional battle arena—the kind that he’d seen in Hollywood TV shows where a villain would challenge the hero to a brawl.

The machina spotted Kirishima in the middle of a match almost at once. He hadn’t even taken a seat at the bleachers when he heard and spotted the oversized axe. _Kirishima-san looks like he’s having trouble with his opponent,_ he thought anxiously upon the sight of his health bar. Chunk after chunk of red disappeared after every passing second and Midoriya could not help but wonder what sort of player was able to—

 _T-Todoroki-kun??_ Midoriya had to take a closer look. There was no mistaking the crimson and snow-white hair flowing in the heat of a battle. _What’s he doing here in **Class A’s** PVP arena? _

It was, indeed, the Elestra that he’d met twice at the blacksmith and he was faring exceptionally well against Kirishima, the mercenary. _Could it be...?_

He gave the list of players a quick check only to find that every single one of them were from <Class A>. It was stated under the ‘Guild’ section of the information.

 

 _Todoroki-kun is from Class A too...I never knew that,_ Midoriya thought to himself, wondering if this bit of info had actually increased his regret for rejecting the guild offer. Wait. What would it? Midoriya shook his head violently and attempted to direct his focus to the current match.

The scoreboard almost looked like it had been hacked.

**[4-0]**

Whoever was fighting in the arena as the red team’s representative had taken down 4 of the blue team’s members, leaving just one—Kirishima. _No way...Todoroki-kun’s won 4 times already?_ The machina was starting to feel a little scared. Well, not as though he wasn’t already intimidated by the elestra’s equipment, even his raw combat skills were exceptional. (lol todoroki is queen, what did you expect, Midoriya?)

“Dude seriously...that elestra’s way too overpowered. Shouldn’t the devs nerf the class already?” A fellow, insignificant spectator sitting behind him voiced to a friend of his.

“Er, I don’t know man. I thought the sorcerer class was supposed to be hella squishy, and they aren’t really good for long draw-out fights, too. That’s why the elestra ends the match really quickly by bursting his opponent down.”

Apparently, Midoriya was not the only spectator in the room keen on watching the match. However, it wasn’t long before it ended in an instant with Todoroki at 78% health—barely scathed.

 

**[5-0]**

**[IonlyUseIce] _ALL KILL_**

 

Spectators began to leave the arena one by one, having witnessed the sheer prowess of Todoroki-elsa-Shouto and feeling completely demoralized by his incomparable strength. Apparently, they haven’t seen the angry pomeranian because, well, angry pomeranian was equally skilled—only lower-leveled as of current time.

Midoriya remained in his seat for quite some time, staring at the ‘All Kill’ that Todoroki had attained before noticing the rising desire in his chest to play with or against him. He pushed it aside, thinking it a dream. Almost impossible.

“Isn’t that Midoriya-kun?” Iida squinted at the bleachers from where the players had gathered to start a new match and reform teams. His glasses glinted under the light of the sun. “Why, it is! Midoriya-kun!” The gladiator waved stiffly to catch his attention, arm extending in a 180-degree fashion.

After all, Iida was all about degrees of perfection.

“Wooah, you’ve got sharp eyes, Iida!” Kirishima waved as well, calling for the machina to come down from the stands. “Wanna join us?”

“IT’S MIDORIYA-CHAN!” Mineta’s eyes went wide at the sight of his adorable bunny ears. Positively drooling. “Whats with that ugly red cloak? Take it off this instant! Take everything off!” He was hit on the back of his head by a tall female hero that Midoriya had never met before.

Kaminari Denki vaguely recalled the adorable machina’s appearance, and was left wondering just where he’d seen her (his) before. He also vaguely recalled embarrassing himself by hollering ‘GIRL’ in her (his) face.

 

Midoriya only just noticed that he was the last spectator to leave the arena, and was, all of a sudden, feeling awfully awkward.

“Uh, hi guys, haha...uh, I was just passing by...”

In truth, the machina had no intention of interfering with the guild’s private PVP session. After all, he wasn’t eve part of the guild and would simply be considered an ‘extra’.

“Midoriya?” Todoroki blinked, glancing at the bleachers. _How did the rest of his guild members get to know his lucky charm?_ (lol todoroki, slip of the mind right there)

“Hello, Todoroki-kun,” Midoriya waved shyly from the stands, and all 8 PVP players turned to stare at the elestra.

Kirishima was the first to speak. “Midoriya-san, you already got to know our Guildmaster?”

_G-Guildmaster???_

Panic was written all over the machina’s face as he tried to regain his grasp of the situation, gaze alternating between the elestra and the rest of his guild members. To discover that the very hero he’d added to his friend list not too long ago was part of Class A _and_ (to make matters worse/better) the Guildmaster was immensely shocking. “T-Todoroki-kun...? Is Class A’s Guildmaster?”

“Well yeah, he’s the best among all of us, so,” Kaminari Denki piped with a shrug. “Hard to admit, but he’s the one to lead our villain raids and stuff like that. Yaoyorozu’s second in command.”

A tall and mature-looking female hero turned to greet Midoriya with a nod. Just like Uraraka, she was a sorceress as well.

“So Midoriya-san, would you like to join us?” Kirishima prompted once more, to Iida’s enthusiastic background nods and Kaminari’s derpy double thumbs-up. Tokoyami as well, stared intensely at the machina, as though willing him to agree.

“I...I would love to join you guys, but I’d be interrupting, wouldn’t I?” Midoriya played nervously with his fingers as he looked at the ground. “I barely know any of you, a-and you guys seem really close, so you’re probably very well-versed with each other’s fighting styles and have already synergised with one another, s-so. Moreover, I’m only level 19 so I can barely do a thing with the skills I have a-and most of all, I’m not even from the guild—”

 

“Midoriya.”

Todoroki was the one who spoke (in the most attractively low voice for a 15 year-old???), and all eyes turned to him. “It’s alright.”

“Yeah!” “Come on, just stay with us for a couple of rounds.” “Proceed, Midoriya-kun!” All at once, the rest of the PVP players were waiting for him to accept the invitation to join the room as a player.

The machina found it so, _so_ hard to refuse.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Great! We’re a full team now, 5v5,” Sero Hanta [ **TapeFace** ] concluded, changing the settings of the room to a different venue. “No more 1v1 and losing to guildmaster all the damn time!”

 

**Previous: Battle Arena**

**Current: City [USJ]**

 

Kaminari cracked up, slapping his friend on the back before low-key agreeing with the losing part.

“We should split teams according to levels,” Yaoyorozu was quick to suggest, sorting out the list of participating heroes. “Midoriya-san should be on the same team as the highest-leveled player...which would be Todoroki-san, then.”

“We have four level 50s, Yaoyorozu,” Tokoyami voiced rather unexpectedly, hinting that Todoroki didn’t necessarily have to be the one joining Midoriya’s side.

Kirishima laughed. “But Todoroki’s the top PVP player, Tokoyami. Damn, it’s infuriating that he’s the top PVE player as well...”

Yaoyorozu sighed.

“Enough. Midoriya-san is waiting,” the vice guild master said firmly. “Midoriya-san, Todoroki-kun, Kirishima-kun, Tsuyu-chan and Kaminari-kun will belong to the red team. The rest shall be blue, led by myself and Tokoyami.”

“Cool!” The red head attempted to rein in his excitement. “What mode are we playing? We’ve got 5 on each team, right? So—”

 

“Captain, then.” Guildmaster Todoroki was, without surprise, the one to make final decisions in the guild PVP session. There were no objections.

Thankfully, Midoriya’s collection of beta test guides and gameplay videos highly featured the PVP scene of _My Hero Academia_ , including the famous and most popular mode, ‘Captain’.

“Ready guys?” Sero asked _after_ tapping on the ‘Start Game’ command, to which several groaned, complaining that they had yet to finish equipping certain heraldries and making tweaks to their skill trees. Fortunately, Midoriya had managed to remove the cloak that Bakugou had ordered him to wear, or (like the latter had said) it would have gotten in his way during battle.

 

Almost at once, the 10 heroes were transported to **[USJ]’s City** map, and a random captain was chosen on each team. For obvious narrative purposes, Midoriya had the fortune of being elected as the first captain of Round 1.

The machina sighed, having expected this a mile away. “I’m sorry guys!” A level 19 as captain? It sounded like a guaranteed loss, since lower levels had a lower health pool and the goal of ‘Captain’ was to bring the opposing team’s captain to 0% health.

“No,” Todoroki assessed in a fraction of a second. “This is good. Kirishima and Asui can go all out on offense, and I’ll be able to stay and defend Midoriya. Kaminari will switch. We’ll go in after two picks—Midoriya and I will follow up when we’ve got a numbers advantage.”

“Got it.” “Kero.” “GIIIRRRL—” Kirishima stuffed Kaminari’s wand into his open mouth.

It was Midoriya’s first time witnessing Class A in serious combat and ten seconds into the game, he was officially floored.

“Midoriya, follow me.”

Todoroki led the way as the rest of his team split into their respective roles, branching out across the map.

“Here, left.”

It was a narrow building that the elestra had led them into, and Midoriya caught on almost immediately. “This is a good place for your elements, right Todoroki-kun? You seem to know this map really well. There’s only one exit and entrance, and it’s small so it makes it hard for our opponents to get through especially with the large area of effect of your skills.”

His teammate stared. _Had Midoriya meant that as a compliment? Or was he merely saying his thoughts aloud like always?_ Either way, Todoroki was fairly surprised by Midoriya’s quick grasp of the situation. After all, the machina was only level 19.

_How many hours of gameplay could he possibly have had from that level? Was he able to develop such a keen sense of the game within those mere hours? Or was he just talented in the aspect of analysis?_

“Assuming none of them are restricted by their duties, Tokoyami, Iida and Mineta will be on the offense,” Todoroki focused on the task at hand, briefing the machina under his breath. “Mineta’s maxed out his camouflage. Tokoyami excels in the shadows, but this place has light since it’s facing—”

He paused. _Footsteps_.

“Todoroki-ku—?”

The elestra whipped around to blast a _glacial wave_ at the corner behind Midoriya, following up with a _freezing sword_ to reveal a frozen dwarf (initially invisible). “M-Mineta-san? He was there?”

The grape-head assassin spat the frost he’d swallowed and with chattering teeth, said something along the lines of ‘i-i-i-it’s not a skirt’. While the pair from the red team were distracted by Mineta however, a burst of speed charged forth into the room through the entrance, knocking Midoriya up into the air and dealing 20% damage to his health bar.

_What? It’s only one hit!_

“Midoriya—”

_Aerial evade into...beat down—_

Iida was taken by surprise. He hadn’t expected Midoriya to counter from above and after all, he hadn’t fought against a machina before. They were _that_ rare.

The impact was enough to flinch the gladiator for a split second, and Todoroki followed up with a _chilling mist_ , effectively slowing down Iida’s active speed. It stole his key advantage.

A distance behind, the frozen effect on Mineta was wearing off, and he was about to slip, again, into his camouflage when Todoroki cut him off by summoning a huge area of frost on the ground, slowing both him and Iida further. “Midoriya, Tokoyami will come any time.”

The machina nodded, at it was during that split divide of his attention that the raven decided to strike with a _crowfall_. “Wah—”

Cancelled.

It was no surprise that Todoroki had reacted to the attack on his teammate at a god-like speed, summoning a barrier of _frozen spikes_ between Tokoyami and Midoriya. The former flinched from the frost, unable to execute his skill and accidentally stepping into the area of frost that the elestra had summoned earlier and hence, sealing the deal.

With the three on offensive slowed and frosted, Todoroki could cast his ultimate—summoning the might of a _Blizzard_ (the cold never bothered him anyway).

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Uwa Todoroki-kun, you’re really amazing!” Midoriya nearly gushed as all three on offensive were taken out by Todoroki himself, but was somehow able to control his excitement and sheer admiration. “You took all three of them on by yourself!”

The elestra was slightly taken aback by the forward compliment that Midoriya had so sincerely paid with a beam on his face. He wasn’t entirely sure how he should be responding, since it was to him only logical that being able to take on all of the opposing team’s offensive would mean that their team would easily gain a number’s advantage. From there, they could eliminate their blue team’s captain before the spawn time was up.

Common sense.

“Not...really,” he managed with an indifferent expression after some time. “I acquired these skills from my master, Endeavor. It’s not that impressive.”

Todoroki’s reply was referring to the various elemental skills in his skill tree—ones that were no different from every other Elestra, every other hero of the same job class.

Those skills...

They weren’t even his own.

They didn’t belong to him.

“That wasn’t what I was referring to, Todoroki-kun!” Midoriya could not stop the words from pouring out of his heart, laid bare for the world to see and almost defenseless in its pure and genuine state. “It’s your reaction time and your ability to keep an eye on three opponents all at once...the mastering of all those skills to create a fighting style of your own!”

“And then your sense of judgement and accurate predictions to counter an opponent! Ah, those must have been acquired from years of tactical training and hard work...meaning you must have been really determined to arrive at this point as well!”

“Such qualities of you, those have nothing to do with your master, don’t they?

All of a sudden, Todoroki felt as though the sun was in his face and the world was too bright for him to conceive. A very strange and foreign emotion filled what he’d always found cold within.

 

“It’s all _you_ , Todoroki-kun!”

 

 

 

And in that moment, Midoriya was all that he could see.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone must fall in love with Izuku. It's a rule :> see you guys next week!! ^0^/


	7. DekuDate #1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midoriya accidentally goes out with a few people because game mechanics allow for plot

 

 

_“You have been forced to disconnect from the server due to maintanence issues.”_

 

Midoriya blinked, staring at the announcement that had appeared in the middle of their intense PVP session (basically Todoroki wrecking everyone on the opposing team and also conveniently destroying the game’s poorly-coded system). _An emergency maintanence?_ He was sure that he hadn’t been informed in advance.

_Ah...just when I was looking forward to getting a closer look at Kirishima-kun’s attacks and Kaminari-kun’s lightning storm. As expected, Todoroki-kun was amazing. Those heroes from Class A are really on a different level._

The game closed itself and Midoriya removed the Nervegear from his head before unplugging the equipment from its charging socket. “I should check the forums on the maintanence...or!” An idea popped into his head. It was unconventional and had a fairly low success rate but it was an idea nonetheless.

He texted Bakugou.

 

 

 **To: Kacchan** ~(*’ – ‘*)~

_Kacchan, did you disconnect from the server? ;A; I did._

 

Almost at once, he received a flurry of replies full of rage and angst. Perhaps Bakugou was already on his phone, about to hit the game’s forums to vent his frustrations. Better still! Midoriya had presented _himself_ for Bakugou to do so.

 

 

 **From: Kacchan** ~(*’ – ‘*)~

_Damn right I did cuz I’m fcking uninstalling this shitty game that allowed u to hv those god damned bunny shit on ur head n a skirt for armor_

**From: Kacchan** ~(*’ – ‘*)~

_Dumbfck game_

**From: Kacchan** ~(*’ – ‘*)~

_I was enhancing my weapon_

**From: Kacchan** ~(*’ – ‘*)~

_Bullshit NPC made me waste my materials again_

 

Naturally, Midoriya did not know how to respond to the series of text messages featuring his childhood friend’s problematic gaming life. He deliberated giving him a call, just to check if he was okay but of _course_ Bakugou was okay. He’d always been the strongest of them all, never faltering in the face of whatever setback.

 

 **To: Kacchan** ~(*’ – ‘*)~

_Kacchan, calm down! Tell me what materials you’re farming for? Maybe I can help...I’m going to check the website for the maintanence updates. Also! Do you have your Guildmaster’s phone number? Or...anything I can contact him with?_

 

Immediately, Bakugou shoved aside all former questions and focused his attention on the last two. Obviously, he would.

 

 **From: Kacchan** ~(*’ – ‘*)~

_Why the hell would u need that bastard half-half’s number? U don’t even know that shit_

**To: Kacchan** ~(*’ – ‘*)~

E _h...? I was just asking ;-; it’s okay if you don’t want to give it to me. I understand. Since I’m not part of the guild as well...we were having a PVP session together when I disconnected, you see._

 

 **From: Kacchan** ~(*’ – ‘*)~

_Wtf u were PVPing with him????_

 

 **From: Kacchan** ~(*’ – ‘*)~

_Oi Deku, PVP with him again and ur dead. Got that?_

 

 

 **From: Kacchan** ~(*’ – ‘*)~

_N why the hell would I have that shit’s number_

 

 _Oh! So it wasn’t that he was refusing for the sake of it,_ thought Midoriya happily. For some reason, it made him slightly relieved as he drew towards his study desk to turn on the PC while thinking of a reply.

“Kacchan seems unhappy that I was PVPing with his guild...maybe he thinks I took up his spot? A-and that it should have been him playing against them? After all, I am pretty under-leveled...” Midoriya was panicking all by himself, running through jumbled thoughts and assumptions of Bakugou’s complicated emotions that could have very well been caused by pent-up sexual desires.  

Finally gaining access to the game’s website, the teen proceeded to run through the updates of the maintenance—only to realize that the developers had forgotten to add certain key events that were featured in the beta-testing. Of course, they only bothered to notice now because, well, developers of the game didn’t give a damn.

 

 

**[Added Events & Features]: **

 

**Marriage System**

Click here to know more!

 

**Guild Wars**

Click here to know more!

 

**Villain Raid Time Challenge**

Click here to know more!

 

**How we are improving the game :D**

Click here to know less!

 

Being the goody-two-shoes that Midoriya Izuku was, he actually narrowed his attention down to the last update and read the entire list of nonsense before examining the remaining three. “Ah...I’m probably not high-leveled enough for a villain raid just yet. I don’t have a guild, so the guild wars don’t really apply to me...and what’s—e-eh? _Marriage_?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was nearly three in the afternoon when the servers were finally up again with the updated beta features. Once the new patch was live, Midoriya hopped into the world of Lagendia once more and was relieved to find all his equipment intact. The shorts and cloak that Bakugou had given to him the night before were stowed safely away in his inventory.

“Honeybun~ just when are we going to reserve the venue for our wedding?”

Midoriya was within earshot of a warrior and his apparent archer-wife who were too busy cuddling to notice the machina on the other side of the bench.

“I will arrange for it as soon as possible, my little sunbun,” said the warrior to his partner, thoroughly embarrassing a certain bunny-eared witness. The machina decided to move out of earshot to give the couple some privacy while recalling that he should probably send a message to Todoroki and apologize for the sudden interruption of their PVP session.

His reply was immediate.

 **[IonlyUseIce to you]:** Midoriya, why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault.

“Bby are you going to get me the best ring there is? I want the best! I will not settle for anything else,” said a sorceress to a cleric as she clung to his arm in a childish manner. “A 24—no, A 36-Karat ring shall do! I’ll love you to bits! Wait, but we must have the best celebration. You have to announce it on the world chat, got that?”

 

“E...eh?” Midoriya stopped in his tracks and took a good look around Calderock Village. _Everywhere_. There were couples everywhere; fawning over each other along the sidewalk, cuddling on every bench and wooden crate; flirting with one another by the portals, kissing under every tree—

 **[IonlyUseIce to you]:** Midoriya?

 **[IonlyUseIce to you]:** Are you alright?

 **[You to IonlyUseIce]:** T-Todoroki-kun! I’m fine, really. Sorry, um I was just a little distracted...

Midoriya was so caught up in the air of awful romance, he’d forgotten to reply to the elestra’s whisper. And when the latter had prompted him once more, Midoriya’s heart could not handle the low whisper in his ear.

 **[IonlyUseIce to you]:** You don’t have to apologize. What’s wrong?

It wasn’t the machina’s first time exchanging a private whisper conversation with someone else (Bakugou and Uraraka were the first two) but for some reason, he was terribly nervous.

 **[You to IonlyUseIce]:** Ah! No iiit’s nothing just, um. Have you...have you read the patch notes? I disconnected because of the sudden update, you see—a-ah! Not that I’m making an excuse for the disconnection, and after everyone went through the trouble of accommodating me into the PVP session and forming a team, it’s really such a waste and I was really looking forward to it! Plus, Todoroki-kun you were really cool!

 

 _I...I rambled!!_ Was all Midoriya could think as he hid his miserable face in his hands (even though Todoroki was not around to see his embarassed blush). A couple bumped into his shoulder and did not bother to apologize.

 **[IonlyUseIce to you]:** Is that so? Thank you, Midoriya. And yes, I have read the patch notes. Would you like to join my party for the daily event quest?

Although Midoriya could not help but think this rather sudden—the fact that Todoroki was keen on inviting a level 19 noob like him to his party was absolutely incomprehensible—he was undoubtedly pleased. It didn’t take long for him to agree and accept the instant invitation that the guildmaster had sent...until he realized that the invitation he’d accepted was not an invitation to join a _party_ , but a _guild_. **#smoothtodoroki**

Almost at once, his chat was filled with a series of warm welcomes from his guildmates. Half of which included those that he’d already come to know. There was, literally, an explosion of reactions.

 

** Guild Chat **

 

 **[IonlyUseIce]:** Welcome, Midoriya.

 **[MeganeBoy]:** MIDORIYA-KUN!

 **[Tapeface]:** Ooooo Midoriya

 **[TheDarkLord]:** Midoriya, you have joined us! I'm glad. Welcome to Class A

 **[CokeFloat]:** Midroiya-kun ^0^/ HII

 **[Hardness99]:** Yo, Midoriya!

 **[KingofExplodoKills]:** WTF Deku????

 

The machina swore he heard a couple of explosions in the distance. They didn’t sound too friendly.

 

 **[IamHer]:** E-eh? Hi everyone...um Todoroki-kun? I, um, I didn’t know I had accepted the guild invitation I, I, I, merely thought it was a party invitation, you see, and uh, suddenly I’m in the guild?

 **[KingofExplodoKills]:** someone expel this shitty nerd now

 **[Hardness99]:** Aw Bakugou, is that affection I hear? ;D didn’t know you were so interested in our new girl

 **[KingofExplodoKills]:** GIRL? WTF ARE YOU—

 

Before Midoriya could witness the wholesome wrath of his childhood friend (or correct Kirishima on his apparently misunderstood gender), a notification appeared before his eyes and in doing so automatically closed the guild chat.

 

**[IonlyUseIce] has invited you to a party. Join?**

**Yes [Y] / No [N]**

 

 _Oh, this time it’s the correct one,_ Midoriya thought nervously to himself, wondering what sorts of pro-heroes he was going to meet now since Todoroki’s party would very naturally be filled with the most skilled players—

“Eh?” Confusion slipped past his lips as he accepted the invitation and was transported to the event quest location. The entrance of the _Wonderful Theme Park._ “Todoroki-kun...only?” _What?_ Midoriya obviously could not English as he came to realize that he was the only party member in his guildmaster’s party. Apart from the guildmaster himself, that is.

“Hello, Midoriya. Shall we begin?”

“Eh? Wait! Todoroki-kun? Are you sure...just, uh, just the two of us is enough?” The machina wanted to confirm, since it wasn’t polite to waste the godly elestra’s time just because he couldn’t complete the daily task. Whatever the daily task was.

“Today’s event quest only requires two party members, Midoriya,” Todoroki explained shortly, staring intently into the machina’s eyes while noticing (and low-key internalizing) how Midoriya’s bunny ears would droop slightly whenever he was nervous or worried.

“Ah!” The level 19 could not help but feel embarrassed once again by the fact that he had messed up multiple times in front of his guildmaster. “I’m sorry that I came unprepared! Please forgive me.”

“You don’t have to bow or apologize, Midoriya.” The elestra found that he was getting increasingly attracted to his new guild member’s appearance, despite having grown accustomed to (or grown fond of) his personality at first. “My request was sudden, so it was a mistake on my end,” said Todoroki with a nod. “Shall we begin, then?”

“Y-yes! Yes, of course,” Midoriya reminded himself (for the fourth time) not to get in Todoroki’s way throughout the daily quest. _Speaking of which...what exactly is today’s event quest about...?_ He checked his task list for the first time of the day.

 

 

**Quest: A day at the Wonderful Theme Park!**

_Clear the following dungeon stages in the park and exchange tokens for limited edition hats and accessories!_

**Couple’s Path 0/1**

**Horse Racing 0/1**

**Spartan Balloon 0/1**

 

 _Ah! So we just have to complete the three stages, right? That’s definitely easier than the past event quests,_ thought innocent little cinnamon roll Midoriya Izuku as he entered the theme park with Todoroki beside him. Naturally, the former had not noticed the odd title of the first dungeon stage, designed specifically to commemorate the newly-introduced wedding system.

“Midoriya,” his guildmaster turned to him all of a sudden, slightly raising his voice so that he could be heard over the massive crowd in the theme park. “What are the stages that you need to complete?”

“Oh! These,” the machina showed Todoroki his quest log, and wondered why he had posed such a strange question. “Why? Does everyone get different stages to complete?”

His companion nodded. “It is randomly assigned. But it is alright, we can start with the stages on your list, Midoriya.”

For sOmE reason, Todoroki was awfully fond of the way Midoriya’s name rolled off his tongue and he could not resist the sinful temptation of saying it every single time he spoke. It was like a bad case of hiccups, really—he just _had_ to say his name every five seconds or so.  

“No way, that would be really troublesome for you, Todoroki-kun!” The machina shook his head adorably and his bunny ears flopped as he did so. Thank god he was wearing the cloak that Bakugou had given him or those would have attracted a whole lot of unnecessary attention indeed.

“Don’t worry Midoriya. Your first stage is the same as mine,” Todoroki reasoned, leading Midoriya towards the ‘Couple’s Path’ stage in the theme park.

“Really?” The way his partner’s eyes lit up melted the tsundere ice that encased the elestra’s tsundere heart, leaving the latter immensely warmed. “That’s a relief. Thank you so much for inviting me, then!”

 

Before Todoroki could respond with a effortlessly cool and collected ‘ _my pleasure_ ’ like the ‘knight in shining armor (literally, his equipment was top notch, legendary-grade) with a convenient white horse (yes, he had a white horse in game as well and it was the most expensive mount available as of the current patch)’, a wild bandit appeared before the pair.

“Ka—” Midoriya was shook as usual. “Kacchan?”

Bakugou Katsuki turned around with a sour expression upon hearing a voice that was far too melodious for his ears that it pissed him off thoroughly. “What the... _you_ again, shitty nerd.”

“...Bakugou.” Todoroki greeted stiffly, and it was only at this that the King of Explosions turned his attention to the elestra, as though noticing his presence for the first time.

“What the hell are _you_ doing here, half blood (author had enough of half-half bastard because lol it’s not a good translation of Bakugou’s insults and coincidentally, Bakugou’s insults cannot be put in english because he wannabe-special)?” Spat the bandit with a growl, gaze alternating between Midoriya and his guildmaster.

“Kacchan, we’re just here for the daily—” “We’re on a date.”

 

 Midoriya turned towards Todoroki and stared, wide-eyed. "Eh?"

  

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the late update ;-; I've not had the time to watch BnHA recently but the new opening kILLEd me *flails around*. The title is literally what it is. A DekuDate. And many people are going to have DekuDates :> Todoroki's just the first one. Bakugou's up next this weekend! (If nothing goes wrong with my schedule *cough cough*) Thank you for being patient! And sorry for the relatively (?) short chapter ;-; I suppose the next one will be a whole lot longer hahaha


	8. DekuDate#2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Behold, an influx of suitors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, I know I said that this one was supposed to be Bakugou's BUT THEN I had more ideas. Kacchan will probably come next week :x

Todoroki glanced down at his party member, blinking once. “What’s wrong, Midoriya?”

_Nothing, Todoroki-kun! Absolutely nothing at all! Only that you just claimed for this to be a **date** and hence implying that we were **dating** in the first place all in front of the Kacchan! _

Internal screams ensued and Midoriya was not having a good time in his mind, searching for any reasons as to how or why Todoroki had so wrongly (or correctly) assumed that doing event quests together meant that they were dating.

“What the fuck—” thus marked the start of Bakugou’s daily case of Midoriya-angst. “Did you just say?”

The bandit advanced, closing in on both the elestra and his cinnabunny companion. Whether or not Bakugou was serious about taking on not just _one_ but _two_ heroes (let alone the legendary **IonlyUseIce** ) all by himself, Midoriya was quick to stop the rising tension between the two.

“Wait wait wait, Kacchan calm down!” This was all a very huge misunderstanding, and on multiple levels so to speak. The machina felt as though he was explaining his not-skirt to his childhood friend all over again—an impossible feat to achieve.

And as the general fanbase was aware, clearing up any sort of misunderstanding concerning said angry pomeranian required a very patient soul.

Thankfully, Midoriya had one.

 

“Kacchan! I can explain,” the level 19 stepped forth with his hands held up, as though surrendering. Bakugou (to absolutely nobody’s surprise) did not want an explanation. He wanted Midoriya. Eeh, not that he’ll ever admit.

“Shut the fuck up, Deku. No one’s listening to your dumb explanations,” the bandit grabbed Midoriya’s arm and yanked him out of the way (conveniently closer to himself, of course, because Bakugou couldn’t stand the way Todoroki was standing so intimately close to his nerd). “I’m talking to you, shitty elestra.”

The poor machina was trying his best to mediate the situation, glancing between his guildmaster and his childhood friend—afraid that the already volatile state of their conversation would soon escalate into a full-blown confrontation.

“Guys? Guys...?”

“I don’t see what your problem is, Bakugou Katsuki.” Todoroki put forth without filter, completely honest about his opinion of the bandit.

Naturally, this succeeded in triggering the ball of angsty explosions to release what appeared to be his accumulated frustrations. Midoriya predicted that an outright challenge was due, mainly featuring Bakugou insisting on a 1v1 in the battle arena. “You fucking bastard—”

“Kacchan, wait!”

 

But before Bakugou could challenge the elestra to a 1v1 and destroy the game’s coding in a single match, smooth Todoroki took the machina’s hand and _blinked_ past the bandit(name of skill), leaving the latter a distance behind while the pair headed for the portal towards ‘Couple’s path’.

Instantly, Bakugou knew that his efforts had been thwarted and had he been several levels higher, he would have been able to fire some explosions their way but nah. He got unlucky. “That fucking half-shit.”

“What’s wrong, Bakugou-kun?” A cheery voice popped out of nowhere and the bandit whipped around to see a familiar-looking sorceress from Class A.

“...round face.”

“Well _someone’s_ angtsy,” Uraraka teased upon taking in the sight of Bakugou’s scowl. How she managed to decipher that he was angrier than usual however, remained very much a mystery. After all, the dude’s face had a permanent frown and not even Iida’s degrees of perfection could rival this particular habit of his.

“Shut up.”

Uraraka shrugged. “You know, there’s only one entrance and exit to the Couple’s path,” she paused for effect, knowing that the information was beginning to sink into the bandit’s trail of thought judging from the way he’d stopped in his tracks.

Bakugou considered this through and through.

At last, he came to the conclusion that Uraraka knew he’d arrive at. That, and...well. It wasn’t as though Bakugou hadn’t considered it in the very first place.

He responded with a grunt of gratitude before proceeding to loiter around the portal, much like a predator laying in wait for its prey. Literally, though (since Midoriya was a bunny).

 

 

 

 

* 

 

 

“Um, Todoroki-kun?” The machina was doing his best to keep up with his party leader, who had yet to let go of his hand. Lo and behold, Todoroki was an opportunist. “I have a feeling that we just made Kacchan really mad.”

His guildmaster glanced over his shoulder with a hint of a smile upon his lips. “Don’t worry Midoriya. Let’s enjoy our time together first.”

 _Todoroki-kun, do you not think that the second part is a little strange...?_ Thought Midoriya as he paled from recalling the word that his companion had used to describe their daily quest. He then proceeded to reassure himself by insisting that his own interpretation of the word was starkly different from Todoroki’s.

Using his free hand to check his surroundings, Midoriya used the navigation system in attempt to familiarise himself with the seemingly new landscape. “Oh! It’s an obstacle path?”

“Yes. For couples,” Todoroki added. For some reason.

The machina paused with a blink, unsure as to what he should make of his leader’s comment. Again, he brushed it aside. “A-ah. It seems...relatively easy!” He checked the map once again. “In fact, it actually seems like a rehash of the beta-version, Thorny path...what’s this, it’s not actually a new map?”

Midoriya was murmuring to himself as usual and it wasn’t uncommon for most people to ignore him while he was doing so but Todoroki, of course, had to prove that he was the special little snowflake that would listen to everything Midoriya had to say.

“Horny path. Mm,” Todoroki nodded in a subtle manner. Well. No one said he was going to hear everything Midoriya said _correctly_.

“No no Todoroki-kun! It’s _thorny_. Thorny path,” the machina’s bunny ears flopped as he attempted to correct his guildmaster. “Should we start soon? I wonder if there’s a catch to this...I mean, would the developers really just do a rehash of an old event map? W-what if there’s a timer or something...”

The elestra was quick to point out a sign that stood out beside the starting line, right before the first obstacle which appeared to be alternating spikes.

“Look, Midoriya.”

 

 

_Couples must hold hands while crossing the obstacle path!_

_-Event Planner Irine <3_

 

 

Just when the machina thought that there was absolutely no way things could get any more awkward between Todoroki and him, it did.

“Um...Todoroki-kun?” They were already holding hands. “We’re not exactly a couple, are we?”

His party leader turned to him with a stare that was perfectly blank.

“We’re not?”

 

_Todoroki-kun, I think that’s too much plus ultra._

 

* * *

 

 

Although it didn’t necessarily take a very long time to complete the obstacle path, Midoriya and Todoroki had the luxury of time. Fortunately for the latter, Midoriya’s fatigue level was relatively low, considering the fact that he was only level 19. This allowed for the pair to spend some leisure time between each stage of the obstacle path (there were five in total), seeking shade under a nearby tree while holding hands and believing that it was a compulsory factor in clearing the daily event quest. At least Midoriya did.

Ultimately however, it was the elestra who got the most out of the experience. Midoriya was awkwardly talkative—the kind of person who’d do his best to fill any awkward silence with awkward small talk and therefore being conclusively talkative as a result.

Todoroki didn’t detest it.

In fact, he somehow _adored_ it; the way Midoriya became undeniably restless at every bout of silence but also effortlessly excited whenever they drifted closer towards hero talk. Every passing second built upon his affections for the green fluff and it made the elestra realize—increasingly—just how fond he was of talking to (or listening to, for accuracy’s sake) Midoriya.

The machina was the love of his life. That was the conclusion that he’d somehow arrived at. As always, Todoroki logic was infinitely justifiable because he was the angsty ice queen that would not be bothered by the cold.

When they’d finally completed the obstacle path however, he let the fact that they were a step closer towards the end of their date sink into the depths of his mind.

“Is something wrong Todoroki-kun?” The acute (a cute, really) companion of his noticed the dull mood that had surfaced all of a sudden, afraid that he’d done something wrong and had unintentionally aggravated his guildmaster. In truth, Todoroki’s mind was often filled with unnecessary and pointless edge.

The edge certainly showed on his face, but...not the pointless part.

“Midoriya,” Todoroki turned to him with a serious expression. “The Couple’s Path...it was nice.”

The machina laughed.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it Todoroki-kun! I did as well but,” he glanced down at their fingers that were _still_ laced together under the elestra’s grip. “M-maybe we should proceed to the next stage now...? Oh no wait!”

Midoriya paused, recalling that they had different stages to complete for the daily quest apart from the ‘couple’s path’ segment. “I’m so sorry Todoroki-kun, I forgot to ask about the stages that you have to complete. It was really rude of me, to have forgotten such an important thing. I’m so sorry!”

“It does not matter, Midoriya.”

“Eh?”

His guildmaster did not bother to explain his seemingly blatant affections for the half-bunny, and decided to go straight to the point.

“Would you like to ride my horse?”

 

* * *

 

 

_No, Todoroki-kun. That’s not how you ask someone to go horse-racing with you!_

Midoriya’s eyes went wide and he froze there, pupils shrinking to the unbelievable size of an ant because the world was too much for him to see. “R-ride your horse?”

“Yes.”

“You mean...go horse-racing?” It was the second stage he had to complete, as far as Midoriya understood. “But you don’t have to accompany me, Todoroki-kun. I feel bad—I’m wasting your time aren’t I?”

“No you are not, Midoriya,” responded Todoroki. His words were vague in every manner, unsurprisingly so. “So, will you ride my—”

 

“What in fuck’s name took you shits so long?” Barked a voiceas as soon as they made it past the portal. Midoriya paled.

“Ka-Kacchan?”

“Midoriya, let’s go.” Todoroki took his hand once again (filled the gaps between the half-bunny’s fingers with his own) as though it was a very natural thing to do and stepped in the direction of the horse-racing stage portal.

Unfortunately, Bakugou was not letting them off so easily. “1v1 me, bastard.”

“I have no reason to entertain you.”

“Wait, Todoroki-kun!” Midoriya halted in his tracks and gently pulled away from his guildmaster. “I...I think Kacchan wants to join us for the daily quest?”

He had phrased it as though it was a sentence, but his tone implied otherwise. As usual, Midoriya wasn’t entirely sure what his childhood friend’s burst of angst meant—only beause those very moments often involved his own adorable self but that’s another story.

Bakugou Katsuki appeared perfectly insulted.

“Why the fuck would I want to join you shits for some irrelevant crap?” The bandit snapped fiercely and was about send explosions in their general direction when Uraraka the sorceress appeared magically.

Like she usually did.

 

“Deku-kun!”

“U-Uraraka-san?” The machina did a double take. “Wait, I...Deku isn’t my name, how did you...why...?” He was conflicted between the swell of happiness when the sorceress called his name is the most affectionate manner and the fact that it meant something particularly negative.

“Ah, I just heard Bakugou-kun calling you that and I thought it was such a cute and intimate nickname!” Uraraka explained with a sheepish smile, reaching up to scratch the back of her head. “You...do you mind if I call you that, too?”

Todoroki had a very dark expression on his face and had someone been watching from afar, they would’ve thought that he was ready for a blizzard. _Midoriya is well-liked by everyone..._ *cue internal screams*.

“N-n-not at all, Uraraka-san!” The machina was blushing hard and while both Bakugou’s and Todoroki’s angst meters were reaching sky-high levels, Uraraka asked if they could all party up for the horse-racing stage.

“After all, that stage allows for four people to enter all at once!” The sorceress was smiling very innocently but to the aggravated boyfriends, they saw red.

“Really? Sounds great!” Midoriya was all for the idea and there was simply no way anyone could turn down such an angelic smile. Even Bakugou went ahead with it, mostly because he’d at least be able to keep an eye on the two people making moves on his half-bunny.

Todoroki however, was just not happy in general.

“Alright!” Uraraka as usual, was the life of the party. “Let’s all go racing!”

 

 

*

 

 

“Deku-kun, you don’t have a mount?” The sorceress repeated, lips in the shape of an ‘o’. Bakugou was lightly triggered by the sound of Midoriya’s precious nickname on someone else’s tongue but did his best to shut everything out and remain in his bubble of angst.

“I’m so sorry I forgot to tell you guys,” said the machina as he hid his face in his hands. “There was a quest to obtain a free horse, but I was busy too busy with my job advancement to complete it in time.”

“It’s alright, Midoriya.” Todoroki, the knight in shining armor called for his characteristic white horse, which magically appeared alongside him at the sound of his whistle. “You can ride with me.”

“Like fuck that’s going to happen,” Bakugou scowled, making clear that he was having none of that by summoning his very own dragon. All of a sudden, Midoriya was having a hard time conceiving where and what he was looking at and whether or not the game’s coding had been tempered to suit the latest ending theme of an anime they were in in some parallel universe.

“Uwoh! Bakugou-kun has a dragon!” Uraraka exclaimed in fascination, turning to the machina with a look of confusion. “I thought the most expensive mount was the one that Todoroki-kun has—the white horse.”

“I thought so too,” Midoriya agreed, unsure as to when the race shall start. It wasn’t even a fair game to begin with. “U-Uraraka-san what about you? Which mount do you have?”

The sorceress waved her hand dismissively. “Nah, it’s just the usual free horse. I was thinking you had it too, Deku-kun! Then we’d have the same horse and that would be so cute!”

 

_Uwa, Uraraka-san wanted to have matching horses with me...I’m so honored!_

Midoriya was obviously missing the point. Basically, everyone else wanted him to ride on their mounts but he was not catching their drift and this was causing everyone a very bad case of Midoriya-angst.

“Midoriya, let’s head to the starting point together.”

“Deku-kun! Do your best okay? You have higher agility stats than us so I’m sure you can think of something to utilise that!” Uraraka was staying positive as usual.

“OI DEKU. Move your fucking ass and get up here.”

Midoriya could not help but think that his childhood friend had an unfair advantage of a dragon mount, since he could probably avoid all the obstacles that those on land had to pass.

_Land...on land! That’s it!_

The machina had found a way he could win this match—without riding on anyone’s horses ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am insane over the latest episode by the way because TODOROKI WAS SO COOL ;-; Deku is cute as usual too hehe


End file.
